


Bloody Shadows

by AutumnAlchemist



Series: Shadows of the Past [4]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, Corpses, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Drowning, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Magic, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poisoning, Psychological Trauma, Shadow Temple, Skeletons, Torture, Transformation, original villan characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:24:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 68,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22950172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutumnAlchemist/pseuds/AutumnAlchemist
Summary: With the Darkness enclosing around them, Time is separated from the rest of the group in one of the darkest places of his adventure.Now he must find the rest of the group, all the while navigating his way through a place that stores Hyrule's bloody history of greed and hatred. But he has to watch his step, for something far darker lurks deep in the shadows.And it holds no qualms in snuffing out the Light.
Series: Shadows of the Past [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607149
Comments: 56
Kudos: 204





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Writing 2 multi-chapter stories at once? Lord what have I gotten myself into...
> 
> But! I couldn't pass up this opportunity to make something for the weekly prompt on the LU discord server. The prompt that created this story is: Time week! We give our appreciation to Time, the dad of the group who needs a vacation.
> 
> Well I said no to that! He gets to suffer through a very very intense situation, all the while worry about his boys!
> 
> Warning! Viewer discretion is advised for this chapter and future chapters! This work will contain disturbing images and scenery. I am not posting all the tags at this moment to keep some sort of shock value, but keep it in mind!

“ _They're getting impatient!”_

“ _I'm aware of this....”_

“ _What are we gonna do!? If we don't figure it out, then-”_

“ _You don't think I don't know this?!”_

“ _What are you planning now?”_

“ _Something a bit more drastic. Get ready for your job, Sister.”_

“ _Alright. Don't kill yourself though. If you keel over...”_

“ _I'm aware, sister. I'm well aware of what our fate will be.”_

“ _Not just our fate...”_

* * *

The first thing that Time noticed as he stirred was the cold stone beneath him and the musty smell. Blearily he opened his eye, bathed in darkness for a moment before his sight adjusted. With a groan, he sat up, trying to gather his surroundings but he was just in a hallway of gray stone, though he swore along the floor he could see some detailed carving.

“ _Where were the others?”_ Looking behind him, he saw only darkness, and then turning towards where the hallway led, he could see it give a bend to the right. No one else was around, leaving him alone in someplace that strained his memory, yearning to be brought forth from the depths of his mind.

Cautiously he moved forward, ears straining to catch any sort of sound but he was met with a deafening silence, making his heartbeat like thunder in his ears. When he came to a small pit, he stopped and looked across the way, only for his blood to run ice cold.

The face in the stonework grinned at him, eyes purely holes that were black as night. He recognized only two places that this face was first seen. And only one of those places had a pit at the beginning.

“Why am I here?” He whispered, afraid to break the silence and find this to be real, and not a horrible nightmare. Time gave his head a shake, attempting to wipe away this dark place from his memory, but when he looked again, it was still there. Still taunting him, still burning in his memory.

Clenching his jaw, Time could only see forward, the way behind him having grown blacker as he moved. He pulled from his bag a familiar tool. He steadied the Longshot and aimed, before he found the little hook to use for his latch point. He released the mechanism, and it shot through the air, before it latched. He had two seconds before he braced himself and shot forward as well. After releasing the prong from it's latched point, Time stepped up to the carved face, trepidation making his feet heavy, heart race, and stomach drop to the underworld.

 _The Shadow will yield only to one with the eye of truth handed down in Kakariko Village._ The whisper across his mind made Time shiver, but he pressed forward, only to be met with the wall being solid instead of fake.

 _Shadows consume the Light of Hope. By the call of the dead, shall it be taken. Find the Light before the Bell tolls Thrice._ Time swore he felt his heart stop as well as his mind, before it raced rapidly. Just before that, he heard the echoes of various screams, and that sent him into a panic.

He had to find his boys!

He pressed his hand to the wall again, but it was still solid. The first message came back to his mind and Time scrambled in his bags before he pulled out the little seeing glass. He glanced into the red-tinted glass, before bringing it up to his eye.

The wall was no longer solid, and thus he passed through with ease. The room before him was familiar as well, the large statue of the bird, beaked pointed ease, encircled by skull torches, the walls covered with the effigy of the same face that had blocked his way seconds ago. Across from him. A large pit that was impossible to see down into, with the entrance barred in a statutes mouth.

Holding up the lens, he took a glance around, seeing all but one torch was fake, and then, just behind the statue, one of the walls was fake as well with a door at the end of it. That was his direction to go.

Stepping through the door, stone wall and floor turned to compact dirt, possibly mixed with something else that Time fared to not think about. Skulls lined the walls, many of their eyes dark but a few were lit up with an eerie glow. He glanced around the square room, trying to glean some information of where he should go. But his memory was fuzzy at best about this area.

What was in this area that he blocked out from his mind?

He took a glance through the lens once more, seeing nothing was amiss so far, until he rounded the center column, where he saw a wall was not in place. He glanced outside the lens, and saw the wall there. Another illusion. After passing through, he saw another room identical to the one he was just in, and glanced around.

  
  


He was about to turn around, confused for a moment before a loud scream reverberated. Whipping around, Time searched for a moment as his heart began to race. He moved as quickly as he could past the illusionary wall, and came to a door. Without a beat, he ripped it open, meeting a dark and dank room, the ground squishing with something akin to dirt, as the walls were covered in the same substance. However, what caught his attention were the long, white hands that were stretched upwards to the ceiling, fingers tipped red as flesh had rotted away, leaving only sharpened bones, and this was the instant that Time realized _why_ he forgot about this area.

  
  


Stuck frozen by the door, he was lost in the fear of dread and utter terror, the memory of an overly large mouth stretching open with sharp teeth and dark, soulless eyes, the sound of an inhuman moan right beside his ear. He quickly glanced around the room, attempting to try and see where the thing would appear, but he found no hint.

  
  


Unsheathing his claymore, he took a moment to steady himself, knowing what would happen should he get too close. Stepping forward slowly, he was just shy of the reach of one hand, and he took a steadying grip on the hilt, before he took a step forward and sliced at the appendage.

  
  


There was a pained noise under the ground, but Time wasted not a moment as he pivoted around, the blade slicing at another arm to his right. He moved as quickly as he could, but his foot slipped slightly, and his vision was engulfed by a large, white hand, sharp bones digging into his scalp and hair to keep him in place.

  
  


Tumbling dirt and debris came from behind him, as he struggled to dislodge the hand from his head, hearing the shuffling movements along with the groans. No! No he had to get out! He couldn’t be a sitting Cucco!

  
  


Dead Hand has arrived to have his feast.

  
  


He managed to pry the hand free, and rolled away before he felt the cold breath of death upon his neck. With a roll, he sliced into the lumbering creature of white, bloated body splotchy with decay and bruising, hands mere stubs and sharpened points of bone, and head raised upwards, preventing Time from getting any hit upon it.

  
  


He glared as it began to lumber forward again, and he waited, waited, his sword poised to attack. Just as it finally lowered it's head down, eyes black like an abyss and mouth unhinged like some serpent, Time struck forward with the blade.

  
  


It recoiled in shock and pain when it was struck with the edge of his blade, dark blood dripping down slowly from the wound and staining the earth below them a darker color, before it began a tactical retreat.

  
  


He wouldn't let it get away that easily!

  
  


He raced forward, and with a shout, vaulted himself up it's back and brought the point down into its open mouth. It gurgled for a moment, before giving a pitiful cry and slumped down, defeated. Time, who had rolled away before it's fall, watched it warily as it lay, twitching on the ground. He heard a noise and glanced to his left, seeing a large chest materialize before him, the hands that had been raised skyward now gone with the death of their master.

  
  


Just as he was about to head over and open it, he heard a groan. Turning back to where the creature had laid, Time was surprised to see not only his sword was still in tact, but beside it was Hyrule, looking uninjured, but now beginning to awake.

  
  


Disregarding the chest, Time raced forward, helping to sit up the other Hero and get his face out of the mess on the ground, wiping it away from his nose and mouth to keep the other from accidentally inhaling the dirt and rotted decay matter mixture.

  
  


"Ugh..." Hyrule groaned as he opened his eyes, trying to adjust to the dim lighting, before his nose scrunched as he registered the air around him.

  
  


"What happened? And why does..." Hyrule began, looking around in confusion before focusing on Time.

  
  


"Are you okay?" He asked, and Hyrule looked thoughtful for a moment and gave a nod. That's one good thing so far…

  
  


"I don't remember much. One minute we were traveling, and then the switch... before it was just dark." Hyrule pursed his lips, as if he wanted to say more, but it seemed he wasn't willing to talk about it right now. Time wouldn't push it, and he helped him stand up onto his feet. He sheathed his large blade before stepping towards the chest.

  
  


After opening it, he pulled out something rather familiar and frowned. When had his Hover Boots been taken?

  
  


"Ah... so it seems we have another dilemma on our hands." Time stated, turning to look at Hyrule who was glancing around the whole room, looking fairly nervous.

  
  


"Is... the rest of this place like this?" He asked, gesturing to the piles of... something in the corners or how the dirt along the walls looked like skulls.

  
  


"Do you want the truth or a lie?" Time questioned, hearing only a whine from the other but they proceeded out of the room, now with the Hover Boots in hand.

  
  


Passing out of the door into the room of the catacombs, the same whisper ghosted across their minds, Hyrule freezing up beside him.

  
  


_The Shadow Temple... Here is gathered Hyrule's bloody history of greed and hatred..._

  
  


"W-who was that?!" Hyrule squeaked, looking every bit of nervous as he sounded. Time said nothing for a moment as he began to continue walking.

  
  


"Spirits of the dead..."

  
  


There was nothing left to say as the two of them began to move through to the beginning, bypassing another fake wall that would just lead him to trouble right now, and they were in the room with the statue.

  
  


Taking a glance at Hyrule, Time could see he was still shaken, and he reached his hand out to lay it on his shoulder.

  
  


"You gonna be alright?" Hyrule didn't answer right away, eyes darting around the shadows.

  
  


"How are you so calm?" Hyrule questioned, and Time sighed.

  
  


"I had to deal with this before... this is something I had to do in my adventures." He didn't feel like saying anything further as he moved to the statue.

  
  


_Make my beak face the skull of truth. The alternative is descent into the deep darkness._ Time took a moment to try and remember which one was real, but Hyrule was staring at the one just by the entry they had come through, frowning.

  
  


"There's supposed to be more?" He asked, and Time blinked.

  
  


"One is real, the rest are illusions." Time frowned as Hyrule seemed confused, before he had a moment of: 'oh' before he rummaged in his bags for a moment.

  
  


"Maybe because I have this on me?" He pulled out a little item, much like some sort of crucifix, and gave a sheepish shrug.

  
  


"That... will certainly be of help." Time took a moment to grab the ledge and began to push the statue mechanism around. Hyrule came up as well, and with their combined strength they moved it quicker, pointing the statue's beak right at the only torch that was real.

  
  


A chime sounded in the room, and soon the groaning of a rusted grate echoed in the room, showing the barred entry in the mouth of the other statue was now open, leading further inside.

  
  


"So... how am I gonna get across?" Hyrule asked, curious to as to how he could leap across the pit. Time gave a hum before he pulled out his newly acquired item.

  
  


"Got anything that lets you leap across? Or float?" Time asked, hoping to jog Hyrule's memory.

  
  


"Just... my jump spell."

  
  


Time thought about that bit of information for a moment before he nodded.

  
  


"Get a running start. That would be your best bet," Time explained as he pulled the golden coverings over his current boots, setting them in place as he tried to gain his footing.

  
  


"I'll go first," he offered with a small smile. When Hyrule gave a nod, Time backed up a bit. He had no traction with the Hover boots, so he had to go back a ways to get going.

  
  


He took a running start, though he felt as though he was running on ice, and when he got to the edge, he leapt across, the magic in the boots allowing him to move across the air for a short time.

  
  


He had the moment of panic as suddenly the ground fell from his feet. With a yelp, Time managed to grab the lip of the ledge with his hands, grunting as it pulled his shoulders. Kicking the air, he managed to wiggle himself up onto the outcropping, and turned to look back at Hyrule.

  
  


"I'm here to catch you!" He called out. He could see Hyrule was nervous, but it seemed the reserved Hero found his resolve. He did the same running leap, and the tingle of magic in the air, and suddenly Hyrule was flying through the air when he jumped.

  
  


Though Time could only watch as his arms paddled helplessly as his descent wasn't quite where he wanted to land. Time reached out and grabbed onto a flailing arm, grunting in pain as the sudden weight nearly toppled him off the edge as well.

  
  


"Don't let go!" Hyrule squeaked out, his face contorted in his fear.

  
  


"Don't plan to!" Time hissed as he tried to pull both himself and Hyrule from the edge. With some effort, he managed to keep them from falling and they were both on semi-solid ground.

  
  


"....Please tell me there's no more of that in here!" Hyrule gasped out, his face hopefully fearful.

  
  


"Okay. There's no more."

  
  


“Really?” The question was so hopeful, Time hated to bring the truth up front.

  
  


“No… that’s not the only time.”

  
  


_"Don't lie to me!"_ Hyrule stressed out as he stood back up on his feet. Time just blew air out of his mouth and pulled the inserts off his boots, before moving forward.

  
  


Right into the sight of a Beamos.

  
  


Time backed up quickly to get out of the line of fire from the one-eyed monster, pushing Hyrule back as well to keep him safe.

  
  


"Got any bomb on you?" Time asked, watching as the creature started to rotate itself, eye lazily looking about for any signs of life that weren't its fellow monsters.

  
  


"Uhh... yeah. A few." He could hear Hyrule rummaging around his bags and he felt a bomb being pressed into his palm. Time gauged his throw for a moment before he lit the wick. It sparks and fizzed, starting it's short timer. With a grunt, Time tossed the explosive forward.

  
  


Right at the base of the monster.

  
  


The explosion ignited the composition of it's blood, causing it to explode as well into a pile of dust. Silence greeted them for a moment as Time took his chance to glance around with his Lens of Truth. To their left, he saw the wall was fake, as was the right, and he moved through the illusion and found the metal door. They'd come back to the center room in a moment, so he left the one wall alone.

  
  


Entering the other room, the two heroes were greeted by the sound of machinery turning, followed by a very intense sight.

  
  


The middle of the room had twin statues of cloaked figures turning around constantly, the hands holding a scythe each as it moved about, ready to cut anything down without a care. Along the floor were various beams laid out, just low enough to pass under the blade but if someone was laying on it and lifted their head at the wrong moment....

  
  


Time shook the thought from his head as he looked around. Four alcoves along the wall, but only one was barred off, and darkened. Perhaps that's where another one of his boys was being held! Or at least a key forward.

  
  


Around the room, Time could see the glint of silver rupees, and frowned. Why was this set up? It made no sense to him. Glancing at Hyrule, he could see the confusion too. Giving a shrug, he motioned around them.

  
  


"Let's just get them and get the key in there." Wasting not a moment more, the two separated to gather up the silvery gems.

  
  


He didn't pay attention to Hyrule, just so he wouldn't be distracted himself as he ducked under the large blades passing by him. He came to the corner and pulled the Longshot out, aiming up and launching himself atop a stack of wooden beams, grasping the first of the Silver gems. He heard a chime, and then another that had been gathered.

  
  


Glancing down, he calculated his jump and made it past the blades, rolling as he went, and ducked into one of the alcoves where another rupee was. His chime and the next signified that Hyrule had gotten another. Just one more.

  
  


He peeked his head out for a moment, and found the last one by the turning statues. He saw the other Hero was ducked down, trying to crawl over to it without sticking his head up to avoid being cut in half.

  
  


"Just one more. You gonna be okay?" Time called out. Hyrule gave no verbal response, and Time assumed that he was alright. He watched for a moment longer, antsy at the idea of one of his comrades, brothers in arms, was having to suffer what he's been through.

  
  


With held breath, Time saw Hyrule grab the last one and the sound of the gate opening rang out, signifying they had completed the puzzle.

  
  


"Think you'll make it over there?" Time questioned again.

  
  


"Maybe? I'll be taking it slow though..." Hyrule groused from his crouched spot, lifting his head slightly only to freeze as the whisper of the blade passed over his head.

  
  


Several strands of his hair floated down in front of his face, showing that the blades were still very sharp indeed after so many unknown years of disuse. Time swallowed nervously, fearing for the other Hero, and just motioned for him to get back to the door before he got hurt.

  
  


With Hyrule sent off, Time watched the timing for a moment or two, and when he had the gap, he moved as quickly as he could over fallen beams, rolling into the alcove that had been barred off from them. What he expected to see was just a chest with a key. He didn't expect the other sight to be there either.

  
  


The chest was there, unopened as it should be. But against the wall was something he hoped to never see any of his boys in.

  
  


Warriors was leaning against the wall, his wrists bound above his head in heavy chains and shackles, blood seeping from the way they had been rubbed raw, his head bowed in his unconscious state, as Time could see the black and purple bruising across his face and parts of his neck. Not to mention the blood that was in the green tunic, where slices had been made into his flesh through the fabric and chain mail. His hair was matted with blood on one side, where a gash had crusted over his temple. He had been through the ringer and didn’t come out unscathed.

  
  


"Captain!" He shouted, racing over to the other man. Lifting his head, Time could hear the way his breath rattled. Fractured ribs? Or perhaps some fluid in his lungs? Time didn't waste a moment as he tried to work the shackles off his wrist, but all he got was frustration and a groan of pain from Warriors.

  
  


"Shhh... it's okay," Time whispered, kneeling down as Warriors began to open his eyes.

  
  


"Old man..." he whispered hoarsely, showing that his windpipe had been through some pain if the hand-shaped bruising there was any indication. Choked and probably brought to the point of passing out with how deep it was.

  
  


"Shh. I've got you. You're gonna be okay. Don’t speak."

  
  


"Behind... you..." Warriors managed out. Time had a moment of confusion before he whipped around, and brought his mental gauntlet up to block a strike from a monster.

  
  


It was a like large Poe, but it wasn't the kind that Time was used to seeing. It looked like a child, enclosed in a sack that was crudely sewn up in various spots, floating a top of a blue lantern. The biggest concern that he had was the large sickle in its hands. It gave a raspy laugh, and Time watched it disappear in the shadows, but the lantern showed where it was.

  
  


He raised his sword to block another strike, thinking it would appear like those of his era usually did, but it stayed invisible, the lantern jingling a bit as it bounced around the small room.

  
  


"By the Three! How do you kill it?" Time hissed as he barely blocked another strike, feeling the tip of the blade nick against his side. Too close for comfort and not enough time.

  
  


"Invisible..." Warriors managed out, and that sparked something in Time's memory.

  
  


The Lens of Truth!

  
  


Time wiggled the tiny lens out and managed to get it into place, just in time for him to block another strike that would have lopped his head off with how quickly the weapon was swung.

  
  


Charging forward, Time swung at air for a moment before he caught the lantern, sending it and the poe-like creature careening into the air, only for it to land right into the blade of the spinning statues. The sack-like being was torn asunder, the sound of fabric ripping along with the piercing, raspy cry of pain the only hint it was there as it fell into the second blade, growing smaller with each pass. Finally, with one last cry of pain, it dissipated in smoke, the lantern shattered, which burst into flames. It was silent, before the sound of metal clicking and chains falling behind him. Time turned, seeing Warrior's arms drop as he slumped to the side.

  
  


Helping the other sit up, Time took his chance to look him over in better detail. It was just as bad as he thought. No, it was worse. The way his face was pale, how his lips seemed to darken to a slight blue-tint, the fluid that leaked from the corner of his mouth was tinted pink and foam-like. This was serious, yet Time couldn’t let himself panic. Not yet.

  
  


"Let's get you out of here..." Time whispered, holding the other close for a moment, closing his remaining eye. He hated to see this man hurt like this, especially in a place he's been through before.

  
  


None of his boys should have gone through this... his Big Brother shouldn't have had to go through this.

  
  


Grabbing the key from the chest and putting it in his pocket, Time hefted the army captain up over his shoulder, hearing him groan in pain with his wounds being jostled.

  
  


"I know... I know. I'm sorry but I have to run. It's going to hurt for a bit." He consoled, hoping to let him know that he understood. Warriors made no other comment, but his wheezing breaths told everything. Time took a moment to time the machine once more, and he moved as fast as he could, following one of the moving blades before he came to the door where Hyrule was at.

  
  


The other hero was clutching his side, holding some gauze to the bleeding wound he had, and Time had no words to say other than to open the door and to get through.

  
  


On the other side, Time fought to catch his breath before carefully setting down Warriors, now frantically searching his pouches for anything to help either of his boys.

  
  


"Here, let me help," Hyrule managed out, and his hands glowed for a moment as they hovered over Warriors. Time could feel the magic in the air before the warmth seemed to wash over him and Warriors. The marks began to fade as did the few visible gashes that could be seen through his tunic, as well as the color to his face returned. Time could hear his breathing become easier and Time allowed himself a chance to relax his shoulders, now seeing both of them were going to be fine.

  
  


Pulling back, Hyrule stood panting for a moment before he removed his bloody gauze, showing his own wound had healed. Good. They would be fine. They weren't in dire need of a fairy, but they would still have to be careful from here on out. Time looked through his pouches again, no longer frantic, and found a green potion. Carefully, he pulled out the cork and handed it to Hyrule, who took sips of the foul-tasting thing with a face. With half of it gone, Hyrule began to use that magic spell again, healing the bruises to only be a faded yellow-green color and allowing the gash over his eye to close, leaving not even a mark. A bath and probably some good food, and he would be good as new.

  
  


Warriors opened his eyes again, blinking rapidly as he looked around. He was certainly more awake than he had been, and if the relief on his face said anything, Time knew it was the relief of seeing someone familiar. He gave a thankful look to Hyrule, who gave a small smile and finished the rest of the green potion, making a face at the way it tasted.

  
  


"I'm glad you're okay," he offered, feeling awkward with his empty hands now that the adrenaline had worn off. He wasn’t always certain about what comfort any of the others accepted, and he didn’t want to reveal everything to Warriors. Not yet. Not yet!

  
  


"Yeah... it was...." Warriors trailed off, his eyes showing something dark and faraway. Time didn't push it, and carefully set his hand on Warriors’ shoulder.

  
  


"I'm just glad you're still alive," Time offered. Warriors nodded, closing his eyes for a moment before he allowed himself a chance to stand up.

  
  


"This place... it's dark. Really, really dark." Time could agree with that assessment, and after helping Hyrule stand, they stepped through the invisible wall (after informing Warriors that no, it's fake, an illusion. They could step through.)

  
  


The room where the Beamos had been was still empty, thankfully, but now they had another illusionary wall before them, and a badly patched wall leading further on.

  
  


With another bomb placed, they revealed a door that was locked, keeping any without a key from getting through.

  
  


Luckily Time remembered to grab said key.

  
  


With that no longer barring their path, the trio began to descend further into the temple, the smell of mildew mixed with moss and something else entirely gross flitted through their nostrils, making Warriors gag and Time grimace. Hyrule just brought his hand up to his nose, his attempt at keeping the acrid stench away as they moved forward through the stone hallway.

  
  


Suddenly, Time had a warning tickle on the back of his neck, and he reached out quickly to pull back Warriors, who gave a yelp of surprise as suddenly, from a hidden alcove in the ceiling, a giant Skulltula appeared. It's glowing red eyes down at the bottom in the mouth of the skull-shaped carapace glowered at them, and Time wasted not a moment to stab his sword through the soft abdomen as it attempted to turn around, as if to see if anything had slipped by.

  
  


It gave a screech before it fell down, thread snapping, before it disintegrated in blue flames.

  
  


"How'd you know it would be there?" Warriors asked, giving a shiver as he looked at the black blood staining the blade.

  
  


"When you deal with enough spiders like I have, you get a sixth sense..." Time responded as he flicked his blade of the cursed substance.

  
  


"Wow.... you must not have any fear of them then," Hyrule commented as he carefully moved forward, eyes now looking up and ahead instead of just ahead.

  
  


"I'm fucking terrified of them," Time responded, voice deadpan but he didn't want to dwell on that fact, moving along as they turned a corner, only to have another descend down, Time stepping back to do the same as before.

  
  


"I wouldn't have guessed..." Warriors mumbled behind Time, making the older hero give a slight smile. No one really would guess it.

  
  


As they continued forward, the sound of wind whistling by and the sound of metal hitting stone drifted on the echo of the hall.

  
  


Rounding the corner, the three saw a drop down to another floor, which lead to two guillotines stained with blood being raised and dropped at opposite intervals, something continuing to operate the traps even when no one else was around to do so. Time could see another Skulltula hanging from the ceiling, and he frowned before searching for his bow.

  
  


A moment later, he released his nocked arrow, watching it soar before embedding itself into the over-sized spider, making it lose its grip on the ceiling before disintegrating into nothingness.

  
  


"So... don't get chopped in half by those things, right?" Warriors asked the obvious question, seeing the dried bloodstains that coated the ground from previous incidents before their arrival.

  
  


"Yes that would be wise." Time agreed, dropping down to the same floor as he mentally counted each drop for the first guillotine. When he had the timing down, he slipped past under the blade as it rose up, Hyrule and Warriors doing the same when they had a chance. The second one was just a few seconds faster than the first, but they all made it through just fine.

  
  


Rounding the corner, Time was about to continue forward before Hyrule reached his hands out and stopped both of them.

  
  


"Don't... move..." he whispered as he looked up. "We have some company..." Time blinked as he tried to recall what was here, and then it hit him. The Wallmaster.

  
  


"We have to run through the rest of this corridor and then, we should be fine." Time assured the others, but he also knew further ahead was an even greater challenge.

  
  


Especially for one that couldn't see the illusions like the other two could.

  
  


With a quick run, they made it out of the corridor, into a large open room, Hyrule skidding out by the skin of his teeth the giant, disembodied hand that came from the ceiling. The room they were in had fathomless pits and the ceiling pitch black, one couldn't see where anything was attached to. The path they stood upon just big enough for the three of them to stand side-by-side, but their way forward was treacherous.

  
  


Two more guillotines lay ahead, along with platforms and the surrounding pit.

  
  


From the depths of the temple, a low ringing ran through out, causing the hair on the back of Time's neck to stand on end.

  
  


_Gong! Gong! Gong! Gong! Gong!_

  
  


_Only Two more chimes until they're all gone…_

  
  


They had to find the others, before the Light was lost.

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illusions, Darkness, and Death
> 
> Warning: Viewer discretion is advised. Read the tags before proceeding forward

_The first thing he noticed when he awoke was the stench. It was dank, musty, with an undertone of something rotting underneath it all. It clung into his lungs like Morth's digging into his clothes; a thick miasma that choked him for air and made his stomach churn. The darkness was second; how it distorted what he saw as he slowly found his eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. The ground was cold, slippery with moss and muck as he attempted to stand up. He could start to see some shapes in the darkness now, and it wasn't anything he could have thought of._

  
  


_A cage. He was in a damn cage! The bars enclosed him, bent enough to prevent his escape but showed that they had certainly been through the beating of time. He wouldn’t be able to wiggle through them, and he tested how strong they were with a light kick to the bars closest to him. He worried his lip as he tried to figure out what to do, but as he glanced around, he could see more. What was now seeing past the bars made him sick with fear._

  
  


_He could see other cages in the room, along with the vague shapes of doors on either side of the opposite wall leading somewhere. What got him were the various things that were strewn around the middle. Tables with metal shackles, large beams placed in an X-shape that were covered in chains, a coffin-like structure that he swore he could see giant spikes inside. He couldn't see what else there was but what he had seen sent a chill through his body._

  
  


_The worst part was that some of his friends- his brothers- were in here as well. He could see Legend was strapped to one of the tables, by way of his hat on the ground, but he wasn't moving save for his shallow, ragged breaths. On the cross beams he could see Twilight was hanging there, head low as he too struggled to breathe. Then he could vaguely see in one of the other cages that Four was huddled in a corner, wrapped up in something that left only his head exposed. Wild was also strapped to a table, but he was further away, so he couldn't tell what had happened to him, He couldn't see where Sky was along with Warriors, Hyrule, and Time._

  
  


_He turned to look around again with his cage, wanting to get out and save them all! He was the only one awake! Slipping around on the mossy stone, he came to the bars, grimacing at the slimy texture now coated the bars, and gave them a shake. They rattled but held firm, proving to him that they weren’t going to break at any moment. He frowned, trying to find something, anything, to pry the bars loose. Nothing but some stones that would only be useful for throwing at an eye or face._

  
  


_Suddenly, there was a noise, like the tapping of claws upon stone. He froze in his search, looking around frantically for the source but he couldn't see- wait! What was that?He squinted to a far wall to try and get his eyes to focus better. Finally, he could see enough in the darkness!_

  
  


_He wished he hadn’t….._

  
  


_It appeared from the wall, passing through it like a Poe. It was a vague shape close to the ground, its gait a strange rolling from one side to another, a rhythmic tapping like long nails rocking on the cold stone with each movement. He couldn't tell what it was, but it drew closer and closer to his cage. He backed up with a gulp when he could finally see the details of what it was._

  
  


_It was a giant hand. Or at least something like it. It was bigger than the Floormasters in his Hyrule, and it wasn't connected to a weird void-like portal. No. No this thing was just out and about by itself, and the implications of what it could do worried him. It stopped in front of his cage, and he felt like there were eyes watching him; judging him. There was a shift in the air before suddenly, it glowed green and floated up, ramming into the cage. He shrieked, moving to the back as soon as he could, not wanting to be any closer to the thing as the bars rattled dangerously from the force of the impact._

  
  


_Satisfied that he wasn't near the bars anymore, it continued onwards towards the middle, as if on a patrol route. His heart raced in his chest as he watched it disappear through the wall again, but he knew it was around. He could feel those eyes watching him. Looking around, he couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but that’s what drove the fear further. What else was lurking in the shadows?_

  
  


_Where the fuck was he!!??_

  
  
  


Time looked across the room once more, trying to gauge where they would head forward from this point. Continuing south would lead them through the guillotines, but heading East or West? He couldn't quite remember which way was the correct way through this whole place, but he had a vague recollection of this place. He looked towards the Eastern area, seeing the one lone platform in the corner, missing parts of where a pathway would have been visible to show it wasn't there any more. To the west was a platform being raised up and down through chains and the turning mechanism that echoed in the room, leading down to a platform and more treacherous dangers ahead.

  
  


He looked East once more and he felt something… pulling at him. He narrowed his eyes in that direction. There was something in that direction. But what? His sixth sense was just telling him to go in that direction and that usually was a good thing. It would certainly be easier going down than going back up.

  
  


“We should head East,” Time began, motioning to the left of their path forward. “I don't know why, but there's... something pulling me in that direction.” Time finished, not willing to elaborate as he looked back to Warriors and Hyrule. Warriors looked skeptical, his eyes glancing in the direction that Time indicated and frowned deeper. Hyrule shuffled uneasily, his eyes darting around to try and see what was really there or what were just shadows playing tricks on the mind.

  
  


“I don't know what you're thinking, Old Man, but I doubt I could make that much of a jump. I know I’ve been able to do some incredible feats, but that… that’s impossible,” Warriors snarked, motioning his hand out to the clearly missing portions ahead of them. Time could see Hyrule tilt his head, squinting into the distance and then looked back at the two of them, having caught on what was happening. Time gave Warriors a look before he carefully pulled out the purple and red lens, holding it up for him to see.

  
  


"This thing, is the Lens of Truth. It was created by a Sheikah man long ago to let others see past illusions. It was the very thing that saved me so many times in this damned place. You think you’re seeing the truth, but you’re not. Here, take a look," Time offered the object to Warriors, seeing the skeptical look he had. The Captain held it between his fingers, twirling it slightly before he brought it up to his face over one eye.

  
  


"Wha.... you..." he started, his jaw slack as he looked around. The path that Time had indicated before that was missing sections, now they had appeared before him. Warriors removed it from his eye, blinking, put it back, and blinked again.

  
  


"Huh... okay. So... Sheikah illusions..."

  
  


"Yes. But be careful. This thing can lead to very dangerous things if one isn't careful," Time stated, giving him a meaningful look as Warriors handed it back. The confused look the army captain gave him made Time exhale quickly, finding his patience beginning to wane. This place really grated on his nerves….

  
  


"It drains your magic if you use it for long periods of time, and after that..." Time trailed off before he put it away, giving a shake of his head. Ahead of them, the two guillotines dropped at varying intervals, the first with a barely two seconds between being raised and drop, the second one a bit slower with a little over three seconds.

  
  


"We make it through these, there's a third one down further," Time began, motioning ahead of him and the other two. "After that... we have to be careful. I believe there was a Stalfos lying in wait beyond the third."

  
  


"Nothing to worry about. Stalfos are easy pickings," Warriors boasted, and Time gave him a look.

  
  


"For you. But these ones are smarter than you think."

  
  


"I hate their shields..." Hyrule mumbled with a deep scowl marring his face. Time could agree with that statement, and he gave a nod to the younger hero.

  
  


"Come on, they can't be _that_ bad," Warriors commented, about to head forward but Time brought his hand upon his shoulder,

  
  


"You are used to fighting them in open spaces, able to jump out of the way and catch them off guard, even with multiple enemies surrounding you and your friends," he began, voice low and serious. "This isn't an open battlefield. This isn't a place where you can easily jump away into a solid place to stand. You fought them in a different way than I have. Don't let it color what we will encounter further into this place we go."

  
  


He released his hand from Warriors, seeing the stunned look the other had on his face, before he looked over at Hyrule. The way his eyes darted around the darkness made Time pause, frowning in worry.

  
  


"You gonna be alright, Traveler?" Time questioned. Hyrule turned to look at him after a moment, pursing his lips in thought as he continued to glance around.

  
  


"I... I think so. Something just..." He trailed off, turning his eyes up at Time for a brief moment before looking away. Time could understand to a degree what Hyrule was going through, knowing the darkness of this place played with the mind.

  
  


As did the visions from the dead.

  
  


"Let's just get going. Be careful of...well," Time left it hanging as he stepped closer to the first guillotine. He could see that the blade was still fairly sharp even after all this time, but the edges were covered in old old blood stains, parts of the metal beginning to rust away in spots.

  
  


He counted the timing, planning how long his strides would be and how to land on the other side. Why had he been so reckless when he was younger? He knew the answer, but didn’t want to think about it. When he was set, Time blew a quick exhale from his mouth, ignoring how it ruffled his bangs, and then sprinted forward, tucking into a roll as he passed under the blade as it lifted, making it to the other platform just below the first. He managed to stop himself just a few inches before the second blade.

  
  


If he was just those few inches closer, he would have found the stop of his skull crushed and his newest adventure would be over with.

  
  


Time managed to back up a bit further, looking up at the blade as it rose up once more. He turned to look back up and gave them a smile before motioning for the next one to come down.

  
  


Warriors was the next to take the leap, giving a grin as he dashed through, but Time watched as that face turned from confidence to surprise within milliseconds.. Just as he was making it to pass under, the blade dropped, and proved that it was still sharp even after all these years of disuse.

  
  


The sound of a sharp blade coming down through flesh and bone, and the sudden cry of agony made Time’s stomach drop as Warriors landed in a heap on the platform below him. Time couldn’t get his body to move as he watched Warriors, obviously in shock, turn and look back, seeing only a stump where his leg had been as blood now poured out with every frantic racing of his heartbeat.

  
  


It was his cry of agony that tore at Time, but it rooted him in place as he could only stare, so shocked he couldn't breathe, couldn't think. No! No no no no! With effort he pushed past his shock and finally managed to unglue his feet from the floor, racing over to where the other was, intent on trying to find some means of stopping the flow of blood.

  
  


The sounds of Warriors screamed didn’t stop, Time feeling the way the blood was still warm on his fingers, sticky and thick, as he tried to find some means of stemming the flow. There was too much. Too much!

  
  


“Stay with me!” Time shouted, panic racing through him as he saw those blue eyes looking up at him in sheer panic, and Time pulled him up into his arms, frantically ripping at the scarf to try and take it off to use as a tourniquet.

  
  


Warriors suddenly went still and Time felt his heart stop as he looked down and saw his face frozen, eyes lifeless, and he was limp. By the Goddesses no! He shook the other man, trying to make sure he wasn’t just playing.

  
  


“Please no. No, don’t do this to me!” He whispered hoarsely, every part of him desperate to not believe this. It couldn’t be true! Not him! Not his big brother! Not the one that did his damn hardest to protect such a small child caught up in a war!

  
  


Time felt hot tears drip down his face as he looked down at that face frozen in terror. He gave a choked sob as he clutched at the other man, not wanting to face this.

  
  


He couldn’t-

  
  


Suddenly, the world shifted and he found himself standing right where he had been at, his head spinning in a rush as he gasped for air. An illusion? Or a premonition? He looked back up, seeing that Warriors was about to race forward again, but he had to stop him! He couldn’t let it happen again!

  
  


"Wait!!" He shouted, making the other pause. "You _have_ to watch the timing! If you don't-" Time cut himself off as his throat closed in, unable to speak. But he hoped he could plead with the other with his face to know what he meant.

  
  


The Captain gave a serious nod and Time managed to take in a quick breath, his heart racing against his ribs as Warriors did the same roll, making it under the blade and landing in a heap on his back before Time. Striding forward quickly, Time pulled him forward, knowing his whole body was shaking as he held onto the other's tunic, intent on making sure this was truly real.

  
  


"Are you okay, Old Man? You're pretty pale," Warriors asked, reaching up to brace his hand on Time's shoulder, before reaching out to wipe something from his face. His tears. Time had really been crying. Time could only swallow and nod, deciding to not say anything yet. He pulled Warriors back to allow Hyrule room to land, and he took account of what was real before him. He could feel that Warriors was right next to him, could smell the sweat and blood that was still caking his hair, and he could hear the sounds of the blade coming down and slicing against stone.

  
  


This was the real moment. Warriors was okay. Now, to get Hyrule down here as well.

  
  


The other looked nervous as he glanced down at them, worrying his lip for a moment before he took a few cautious steps back. Time offered a prayer that the younger one would make it through just as fine as they had, but he was still worried.

  
  


With a yelp, Hyrule passed under the first blade and landed safely, though he had to be stopped in his stumble forward by both Time and Warriors before he knocked all of them over into the second guillotine.

  
  


Hyrule gave a sigh of relief as he looked up at the other two, before the three of them glanced at the second one. It was a bit slower than the first and the third one ahead, but if one had kept their momentum from running under the first and tripped, obviously they wouldn't have made it through without losing something.

  
  


It was easier going through the second one, the timing better suited for them to make it as they looked across the longer platform. The third guillotine was just as quick as the first, leading to a platform ahead that was bare or anything, but Time knew better.

  
  


"I think I should head over first. I know you boys are capable to fight," he began, looking at the other two with his only eye for a moment. "But I don't want to think about having you two fall over in this fight. It's best to go against them one-on-one." Warriors and Hyrule looked ready to argue, but Time wasn't going to have it.

  
  


"Please, just stay here. It's safer than you think," he pleaded. He couldn't bear the thought of fighting the Stalfos, only to not pay attention as one of them fell into the dark abyss below and he couldn't save them.

  
  


"Fine. But if you're in trouble, one of us is coming over to save you,” Warriors demanded. Time clenched his jaw in frustration, but he could accept that.

  
  


"Alright. It shouldn't be too long," he offered before he turned back. He stepped forward, counting the timing of the final guillotine, and just as he was about to go forward, he stopped. A chill ran up his spine and he took an immediate step back.

  
  


From the depths of the darkness below, flying upwards was a flaming skull, eye sockets aglow a ghastly green as sharp teeth attempted to try and chomp down upon his head. Time gave a shout as he ducked, the Bubble sailing past his head. It bounced when it landed- having just missed Warriors and Hyrule who sprang back- spinning rapidly in the air when it attempted to change its direction. However, it fell back down into the darkness below with a chattering of bone and a ghostly cry. Several seconds later, there was a crack as the darkness snuffed out the magical fire and the bone disintegrated.

  
  


"....That was easy," Hyrule mumbled in surprise, all of them glancing down the edge of the platform to witness the demise of such a minor nuisance. Time could see that Warriors was confused by the turn of events, one eyebrow raised at the scene he just witnessed. Time gave a shake of his head as he looked down at the abyss, but steeled himself to move forward. He counted how long he had to take, and when he had the timing right, he raced forward, ducking under the blade.

  
  


Just as he landed safely on the other side, it had come down behind him. If he hadn't made it- no! Don't think about that! He gave a steadying breath as he came forward two steps.

  
  


From the shadows the form of a Stalfos appeared; a large skeleton clad in old, rusted armor, face set in an ever present grin of jagged teeth, eyes glowing red with magical fire as a 'heart' pulsed in it's chest through broken ribs, glowing the same red as it’s eyes.

  
  


The two of them circled each other, swords drawn, trying to find an opening in the other's defense. Nothing else besides the Stalfos had Time's attention, and that's probably the best thing at the moment.

  
  


Suddenly as the Stalfos made a vertical slice at Time, it dropped it's defense, shield moving away to expose the heart. However, when Time side-stepped, he had to bring his own blade back up to defend against the side swipe motion of the same wicked blade the Stalfos had.

  
  


Circling again, Time could see that same split second movement and he took it. With a leap forward, Time thrust the tip of his sword forward, sliding it through brittle ribs and gouging deep into the pulsing magical fire that was its heart.

  
  


It gave a groan of pain, jerking back and breaking more ribs apart as it attempted to dislodge Time's sword. The older hero took a step back just in time to dodge another swipe from the skeletal knight, but he could feel his heel was on the edge. He didn't dare look back, knowing if he did then the Stalfos would be right on him in his distraction. Suddenly it jumped back and gave a leap, forcing Time to roll forward and out of the downward thrust it tried to inflict upon him.

  
  


Coming to his feet, Time took the moment that the Stalfos was attempting to pull its sword out of the stone and stabbed it in the back, slipping through the spaces of ribs and pushing the whole blade through into the cold stone. It turned to look at him, the fire of its eyes dying down into nothing as it looked behind to stare at him, as if a betrayal of some code of honor.

  
  


“ _Stabbed me in the back like a coward…”_ He heard the whisper across his mind, and time swallowed as there was a final groan of pain from the monster.

  
  


Like a coward...

  
  
  
  
  
  


_Wind stayed huddled close to the wall, staring out in the darkness past the cage bars as the details became clearer. Yet he wished he couldn't see what he was seeing. Nothing in all his adventures could have prepared him for the sight he was now bearing witness to._

  
  


_Through the last few hours, a shadowy person would come by to torment those strapped down. He could see it was vaguely feminine, but the details weren’t clear. She would hum a creepy song as she maneuvered around them all, torturing the three in the center area. He would watch as she would unsheath a blade from her side and twist it into Legend’s side, laughing at his screams of agony. She would then repeat the process in a few other spots._

  
  


_Hearing Legend scream like that made Wind’s stomach churn, nauseated from the idea of someone so strong brought to such a low point. He had to close his eyes and cover his ears at one point, but he still had heard the cracking sound of a bone being broken, and Wind fought against the taste of bile in his throat._

  
  


_The shadow person would move on to Twilight, tormenting him with beatings or also the same knife as she had with Legend. At some point she had heated up an iron rod and pressed it into his flesh. Wind could feel himself cry as he tried to block out Twilight’s screams of agony, but he couldn’t block out the smell of burning flesh. At some point, Wind did spit up bile from his stomach, shaking in fear._

  
  


_Her insane laughter would haunt him forever._

  
  


_She had paid no mind to Wild when she left, passing through the walls much like the Floormaster had earlier. Wind dared to look around, wondering if she would turn back up to come after him. However, his attention was caught in the dark when that large hand appeared once more. He felt a sense of dread as he watched it appear from the wall once more, his stomach clenching in fear._

  
  


_He watched in horror as it began to move over to where Wild lay, easily moving atop of the other hero before it wrapped itself around the other man’s torso, squeezing him. Wind could hear the sound of bones popping and Wind trying to gasp for air. No! He couldn’t let him be hurt anymore!_

  
  


_"Let him go!" He finally managed out, getting up from his spot against the wall, racing to the bars and shaking it, ignoring the slimy wet feeling that covered his hands again. But the Floormaster paid him no mind, squeezing harder before it finally relented, just as Wild's face had started to grow purple._

  
  


_It clamored off of Wild, now moving over to where he was trapped, but Wind stood firm even as his legs shook. With the sounds of rapid nails tapping on the ground, it came to a stop just before his cage once more, and then it glowed that green color before slamming into the cage again._

  
  


_Wind flinched, but he didn't scramble backwards. Not this time. it couldn't do anything to him while he was in this cage! It stumbled about, a bit dazed, and Wind gave an internal cheer. Maybe he could use it to break the bars if he taunted it!_

  
  


_He saw just past the overly large hand as Four was waking up, swill wrapped up in something. He lifted his head with a groan, but before Wind could shout at him, a large arachnid figure descended from the ceiling, large legs weaving something before it encompassed Four's face._

  
  


_The shorter hero gave a shout of surprise, before it was muffled and finally distorted, leaving Four wrapped up and immobile. Wind didn't get to see what happened as the Floormaster moved over to the side of the cage close to the wall and then it_ _ **slipped through**_ _the bars- like they weren't even there!- and stood before Wind._

  
  


_Wind had only two seconds to stare in shock before he dived out of the way as it attempted to ram into him, long fingers extended out to try and grab at him. With a shout, he passed through the same bars, and pressed against the wall. The Floormaster had hit the bars of his cage again, and Wind shuffled along the wall, trying to find where it was that the thing had passed through. Suddenly, he fell backwards with a yelp, landing in water that soaked through him like ice._

  
  


_Scrambling again, he got to his feet, seeing a corridor that moved both left and right, where he had passed through a solid-looking wall, and he dove towards the left path, leaving the others behind._

  
  


_Like a coward..._

  
  
  
  
  
  


Time looked down at the skeleton that began to fall apart like sand, and then turned to look over at Hyrule and Warriors, breathing heavily as he stepped away. He sheathed his blade and nodded to the two of them. It was safe enough for them to cross now without possibly falling over.

  
  


Hyrule was the first to make it over, landing in a roll and nearly hitting the wall ahead of him. He gave a sigh as he dusted himself off, moving off to the side as Warriors made his own way over safely.

  
  


"So, you said that there are missing platforms there, right?" Warriors asked, turning to look at the empty space to the East, Time giving a hum of agreement.

  
  


"I can see them," Hyrule stated, looking up at Warriors with a shy smile. "I guess I get to have an advantage as well, huh?" He teased. Warriors gave a scoff and roll of his eyes, but said nothing further.

  
  


Time tried to guess how large the leap was, not willing to pull the Lens of Truth out just yet, but he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand, his body giving a shiver. He glanced around at the ceiling, seeing nothing up there and he frowned. Pulling the eyeglass out, he scanned the area around them, trying to find what was making him so antsy.

  
  


"Something wrong?" Warriors asked, looking around frantically too.

  
  


"Skulltulas... but where?" He questioned, feeling his eyebrows furrow deeply. It was getting stronger now, and he turned around, but saw nothing hanging from the ceiling. He looked around again, stepping closer to the middle of the platform again.

  
  


Where was it?

  
  


"Aarrgh!" Hyrule shouted behind them, making Time and Warriors look back as he was behind pulled down off the edge of the platform. Warriors was closest, reaching out for flailing arms to hold onto Hyrule, landing on his own chest with a heavy grunt, as Time dropped the glass on the ground and scrambled to do the same.

  
  


Just past Hyrule's feet, Time could see the eight glowing eyes of a large Skulltula, it's poisonous fangs digging into Hyrule's leather boot. It was attempting to pull him down, as if it was trying to store the poor boy away to consume later. With a grunt, Time and Warriors managed to pull Hyrule up a bit closer, but the overgrown spider still held on, it's legs clinging to the wall with ease and pulled back with surprising strength.

  
  


"G-Get it off!" Hyrule squeaked out, eyes wide in fear as he scraped his nails along the stone, Warriors and Time still holding onto him. Time grit his teeth and looked at the Captain. He had a plan!

  
  


"Can you hold onto him?" He asked, both of them pulling Hyrule up a bit further for a secure hold. With a grunt, Warriors nodded, managing to get his feet under him as he held onto Hyrule's arm and back of his tunic and pulled more. Hyrule gave a shout of pain, obviously being pulled in two directions would hurt anyone.

  
  


Time pulled his bow out once more, nocking an arrow in the string.. He aimed just past Hyrule head and straight into the exposed eyes. He had a split second and he released the tensed arrow, zipping past Hyrule's ear and the broad head slammed into the fleshy orbs it had for eyes. It gave a screech of pain, mandibles releasing Hyrule's foot as it thrashed around, before slipping down into the depths below.

  
  


Warriors hoisted the other up as fast as he could, panting heavily as they both fought to catch their breath. The traveler brought one hand up to his ear, hissing in pain, and the other was around his boot, checking to see if there were any holes.

  
  


"Are you okay?" Time asked, worried as he lifted the hand away, seeing the long cut along the elongated lobe from where the fletching whizzed past Hyrule's head.

  
  


"It stings..." Hyrule muttered quietly. Time winced at the blood oozing from the wound, but it wasn't that bad. He moved to check Hyrule's foot, and gave a sigh of relief. The boot wasn't punctured at all, so the other should only have some bruising. It was the best thing to have happened given the circumstances.

  
  


"That sixth sense of yours is pretty spot on... but a little off on the where part, Old Man," Warriors commented as he stood, making Time frown at him.

  
  


"None have ever come _up_ from there before, Captain. Not like last time I was in here," he explained with a frown, before helping Hyrule stand up on his feet. His ear was still dribbling with blood, but they both knew he'd be fine. He'd just have a scar after a quick potion or fairy later.

  
  


"Let's just go forward now. I still have a gut feeling about that direction," Time explained, kneeling down to grab the glass lens, seeing the magical item was still intact thankfully. He held it out to Warriors the other glanced through the red glass, blinking for a moment before he nodded. Hyrule gave a nod as well. Good.

  
  


The three of them backed up a bit, not at the edge anymore, and they took a running leap, landing on the invisible platform with ease. They did this three more times, making it over to the door that was situated in brickwork that opened inwards, allowing all of them inside.

  
  


The hallway was short, just a few feet ahead of them and then it turned right, the sound of a mechanism moving echoing through the hall. It sounded just like the room that they had found Warriors in.

  
  


They rounded the corner, only to see... nothing? That can’t be right? What’s making that noise then?

  
  


"Was there something supposed to be there?" Warriors asked, making to step forward, but Hyrule reached his bloodstained hand out and stopped him.

  
  


"No... No there's still something there. It’s like the room we found you in," Hyrule mumbled, and Time finally remembered. He looked through the lens once more, and saw the same death machine from before.

  
  


Sheikah magic. He really hated it when it was just too good, and also in his way.

  
  


Time looked around the room from the opening, not daring to step further into the room. The floor was covered in dark stains, unmistakable in what they could have been from. Chains dangling from the ceiling that swayed slightly with the air movement from the invisible machine. Time could see along the walls were a few Keese, their eyes watching the small group, and across from them was a large, gelatinous tube-shaped creature that just sat there, undulating in a passive means in front of a large barred door.

  
  


"Seven Keese and a Like Like," Time mumbled, seeing a majority of the room from the vantage point. He looked to Warriors who was frowning in confusion at the Like Like in the distance, Hyrule giving a groan of dismay at the sight before him. Time took a quick glance through the Lens of Truth once more and nodded to himself.

  
  


"The only way to open that door is to defeat all the enemies," Time stated as he frowned. He took a glance to Warriors, wondering how he would get through there without seeing what he and Hyrule could see.

  
  


"So what exactly is that... _thing_?" He questioned, motioning to the Like Like that continued to sit there, not paying any sort of attention to them.

  
  


"That’s a Like Like. It’ll eat your shield and sword if you're swallowed up. Just... Just don't. It's not a pleasant experience," Hyrule mumbled, giving a shiver. Time gave a nod in understanding before he crouched down.

  
  


Warriors and Hyrule followed him as they were now low enough to pass under the invisible scythes, feeling the blades pass just a few inches above their heads. Seeing the minute boundary line in the stonework, Time took a few steps past it and stood up, motioning for Warriors and Hyrule to do the same.

  
  


"Aim for the Keese first. It's a pain trying to dodge them," Time offered with a whisper, pulling out his bow once more and counted his arrows. He only had 20 left. It would have to do.

  
  


He pulled the first arrow and nocked it, taking aim at the corner wall where two Keese roosted. He heard the straining noise of a bow string to his left as Warriors did the same, aiming at another one on the opposite wall.

  
  


Time released the arrow, but it seemed with his single eye he was off. The arrow only hit one of the bat-like creatures, the other startled in surprise and took off with a screech.

  
  


"Crap!" Hyrule shouted as he managed to pull out his own bow, shakily pulling his own arrow and made to aim. Warriors released his own arrow, hitting the one he had been aiming at, and now he had to try and dodge the swoops from the now frightened bats that flew about.

  
  


Time nocked another arrow, and aimed at another Keese that came down, releasing it and he watched it pass through the creature and then pin it to the ceiling. Time didn't have a moment to revel in it, now taking another arrow out- 17 now- and he nocked it, just in time to aim at another Keese that came down at him. Three more!

  
  


"Look out!" Hyrule shouted and Time turned, just in time to jump the gaping maw of the Like Like that had attempted to drag him into the depths. Warriors ducked away too, and Time took the moment to take his large sword and thrust it into the rubbery hide of the creature.

  
  


It wiggled in pain, a hissing noise escaping it before Time twisted his blade and swiped upwards to rip it apart. It began to dissolve, the magic that kept it moving now dissipated as the creature was now gone.

  
  


He heard the twang of a bow string releasing and ducked, the dying screech of a Keese now pinned to the wall by his head, another dying across the room. Only one more.

  
  


He turned in time to block the bite that had been aimed for his head, using his gauntlet to stop teeth from aiming at his blind side. He flung the creature off, watching it flail in the air before suddenly being sliced in half by an invisible blade, falling apart to the ground in a bloody pile.

  
  


"Anyone get bit?" Warriors asked, frowning at the mess around them; the Keese from the ceiling sliding off the arrow and hitting the ground with a wet 'splat.'

  
  


"I'm good." Hyrule stated as he checked himself over, finding that nothing had caught him by surprise.

  
  


"It tried to eat metal," Time responded as he shook out his hand, seeing only tiny teeth marks in the metal.

  
  


There was the sound of a jingle, as if they had conquered some sort of puzzle as the bars that had blocked the alcove now lifted. The three glanced at one another, trying to figure out if something was in there. Time looked around with his Lens once more before he was moving over to the alcove and ducking inside. There were two small chests in the room, but the real prize was something much more disturbing.

  
  


Legend lay slumped against the wall, his tunic torn to shreds as his face was a mixture of black and blue. His breathes were gurgling and short as blood pooled on the ground from his various wounds. His cap was just resting haphazardly on his head, as if his captor had just decided to put it there and forget about him in the room.

  
  


Time’s heart raced as he turned to the doorway, shouting for Hyrule to get in here as he lifted Legend's head, seeing the multitude of bruises and swelling on his face. The other hero groaned in pain, but didn't wake. Time was trying to see if there were any more serious wounds that needed to be looked at, knowing they only had a short amount of time to heal him. He happened to glance at the large tear in his side and frowned at the wound, seeing there was something off about it.

  
  


He touched the outside of the oozing wound, rubbing the blood between his fingers. The wound itself had a strange oily tinge to it, looking slightly green in some of the older spots. He brought his fingers up to his nose and gave a sniff, scowling at the sickly sweet order.

  
  


"Poisoned..." He mumbled, just Hyrule managed to make it in. His breath hitched in shock, making a whine in his throat before he raced over as well.

  
  


"What... what happened?!" Hyrule asked as he was instantly pulling his magic forth in his attempt to try and heal what he could.

  
  


"I'm not sure, but he needs an antidote, quick," Time explained, motioning with his fingers the way the blood now started to change a different shade of red. Hyrule gave a wince and he moved his hands to hover over Legend.

  
  


The magic rolled off the Hyrule's hand as he poured his whole being into trying to heal the damage that had been done, hoping to save Legend. The bruising around Legend's face started to fade and the various stabs and cuts through his torn tunic began to heal.

  
  


Time watched as sweat began to dot Hyrule's forehead, obviously straining to help heal the other. Before Hyrule could finish anything, Legend lurched forward as he coughed, foaming blood spilling from his lips, nearly falling over before Time kept him upright. Hyrule stopped his magic in surprise, panting heavily as he looked at the other Hero, worried he was making it worse.

  
  


Legend seemed to finish, his red tunic now stained further with more blood as his breathing just a tad easier to listen to, and Time turned to look back at Hyrule.

  
  


"Do you need a break?" Time questioned, his worry evident even to himself. Hyrule shook his head, still panting for a moment before he pulled his magic forth once more and went back to healing.

  
  


Legend turned to the side and Time had to look away as the other began to puke up more blood and bile, obviously having been through some horrible torture if this was his healing process. The bloody, graining texture made Time queasy, but he held himself as strong as he could for everyone else’s sake.

  
  


Finally, Hyrule could do no more as he sat back, panting heavily and exhausted, but Legend looked like he would be okay. His color was healthier and his face wasn't swollen up from the beating. No longer bleeding, but he was still bruised to all hell.

  
  


He would live, and Time was ever so thankful to have that placed upon him. Legend would live, even with the scars of this whole place.

  
  


Legend gave a groan as he managed to crack open his eyes, green as a vibrant field, and Time relaxed just a bit more. He was awake, breathing. He would be alright.

  
  


"Glad to see you're still with us, Veteran," Time offered, giving a relieved smile to him. The other blinked blearily, and glanced over to see Hyrule sitting up with a wince.

  
  


"Where..." Legend managed out, throat hoarse from possibly screaming or the ejection of his stomach's contents. Time didn’t know which of the two was the worst option to have.

  
  


"We're in one of my Temples," Time began, knowing the question that the other had. Time looked over at Hyrule again before he motioned to the chests. There had to be something in them, but Time was going to get Legend out of here before anyone else was hurt.

  
  


"We'll get you out of here. Just hold on," Time stated, helping to pull the other Hero up and over his shoulder, hearing him grunt in pain as his shoulder plate was digging into the still sensitive skin of his abdomen. He turned to look forward towards the main room, but he stopped when he finally noticed something.

  
  


It was a white sack, hanging from one of the chains in front of the door they had entered from, the white sack wiggled and a muffled noise was heard over the mechanical sound from the torture device spinning around in the center.

  
  


"Was that there when we came in?" He heard Warriors ask from outside, and Time frowned.

  
  


"No. No it wasn't..." Time didn't pay any more attention as he moved the eyeglass to see the blades once more, and he moved to the other side of the room as it moved in a counter-clockwise fashion.

  
  


He looked up at the wiggling sack, frowning as he swore in the webbing he saw a hand trying to push through, but he wasn't positive in the dim lighting. He looked over to see Hyrule had managed to crawl under the blades to stand by Warriors, leaving himself and Legend on the other side by themselves.

  
  


Time looked to see if there was anything else amiss by the wiggling sack, but it stopped its vigorous movements. That made his anxiety rise more at what could really be up in there. Some ReDeads? Or maybe it was an egg sack for Skulltulas?

  
  


"Do we shoot it?" Warriors asked from across the way, showing he was just as wary as Time felt. The sack began to thrash about now, as if it had heard what was said. Something wasn’t right. He didn’t say anything as he followed the movement of the spinning blades in the center, making it back through the entrance of the room.

  
  


“Just hang out here for a minute,” Time stated, and Legend gave a snort.

  
  


“Doubt I’m gonna be moving anytime soon, Old Man,” Legend groused. With a shake of his head, Time turned to look back in the room, seeing Warriors was aiming up at the sack with his bow for a moment before Time held up his hand.

  
  


"Wait a minute," Time called, and Warriors paused as he lowered the bow. "There might be something in there."

  
  


"How do we expect anything though? Do we just leave it?" The captain called out, frowning as he looked up with it along with Hyrule. Time frowned in thought, trying to think of something, anything, to get it down.

  
  


Warriors suddenly nocked his arrow again and shot at the top of the sack connected to the chain, making it sway back and forth from the force but it stayed firmly attached. There was a muffled noise through the silk that caught Time’s attention. Something was alive in there!

  
  


Suddenly, a tear appeared just in the side of the sack and a hand came through, waving frantically to try and stop the swaying. Then the wrist, with a familiar tunic sleeve.

  
  


"WAIT!" Time shouted just as Warriors was about to ready another arrow. "Smithy’s in there!" Time called out, pointing up as the sack continued to sway. The hand curled into a fist before giving a thumbs up, saying they were right.

  
  


"Shit! How are we gonna get him down? Especially when I can't see where the damn blades are!" Warriors shouted out, his face set in panic as Hyrule looked around as well, wringing his hands.

  
  


"Maybe if we hit the chain from the side? That way he can land outside of them?" Hyrule asked, and Time gave a frown in thought, but he nodded.

  
  


"Alright. You can hear us, Smith?" Time asked, and he got another thumbs up.

  
  


"Alright. Can you tear more into the sack?" There was a pause as the hand moved back in, only to pull a bit more on the webbing. He could hear a ripping noise and then another thumbs up. It then pointed to where the sack was attached and made a circling motion. Attached at the feet?

  
  


"Shit..." Warriors grumbled, and Time couldn't agree any more.

  
  


"Can you free your feet?" Time asked and the hand retreated a bit before a tear at the bottom appeared, and Four's face appeared, gasping for air as he looked around wildly.

  
  


"Can't I just drop as it is?" Four asked, and they shook their heads.

  
  


"No. You can't see them but there's spinning blades below you that are concealed with magic," Hyrule commented and Four frowned, looking around him again.

  
  


"But can you undo the chain in there?" Time asked and Four frowned as he concentrated and then he gave a nod.

  
  


"Yeah. But I don't wanna do it yet," Four commented and Time gave a nod.

  
  


"Alright. How many arrows do you have, Captain?" Time questioned, seeing that Hyrule counted the arrows in his hand.

  
  


"Uh... 30, maybe more?" Hyrule called out and Time nodded.

  
  


"Alright. So hit the chain and get him to swing. Maybe if we can loosen the chain and get him out the way, maybe the sack will tear and you can get out of there." Time called out and Four gave another thumbs up.

  
  


A few arrows had the chain swaying dangerously back and forth, Time moving to the other side of the room from Warriors and Hyrule, ready to move in and catch him if necessary.

  
  


"It's off! Someone get the web!" Four called out as his whole body was now pressing down with gravity doing the work. Warriors nocked another arrow and then, and watched as it embedded into the webbing and the sound of ripping threads. Four gave a yelp as he fell through the bottom, sticky web coating his hair and face as he dropped down from the height.

  
  


Right into Time's arms.

  
  


The two landed in a heap, Time wheezing heavily from the sudden impact of the other Hero landing atop him. He managed to lift his head and gave a relieved smile

  
  


"Whatever put me up there.... I officially hate it." Four mumbled as he lifted a hand to his head to rub his forehead, only to pull his hand back spider’s silk connecting him.

  
  


"Skulltulas. But you'll be disappointed that there's more further in."

  
  


"Great..."

  
  


It took a moment to help Four untangle, but the group maneuvered their way through the death trap room to where Legend was. Said hero looked up at all of them and winced at the web that covered Four.

  
  


"Tried to become lunch?" He asked, looking the other up and down. Four frowned as he looked at the other.

  
  


"Yeah. Just like you tried to become training dummy," Four retorted, but it didn't hold any bite. It was silent as Time felt ready to stop in and prevent any arguments, Four and Legend gave a smile at each other, nodding in understanding.

  
  


The group of five took this time to check their supplies, finding that Four had a red potion that was immediately being given to Legend, while the second green potion was given to Hyrule to help him recover his drained magic reserves.

  
  


Legend was able to stand up and move himself now with the potion in his system. He tested his limbs and movements, wincing as he moved his one knee. Time could feel sympathy for the other, knowing what the feeling of phantom pains could do to a person. They either hit at the worst time, or came at you with tendrils of agony in your sleep.

  
  


Neither of those options are wanted by anyone.

  
  


"So. Care to tell us those not in the loop where we are?" Legend asked as he leaned against Hyrule, his face set in his normal scowl and Time heaved a sigh.

  
  


"A very very dark place. The Shadow Temple," Time began, seeing the other roll his eyes but Time paid it no mind.

  
  


"To put it simply... it's been used by the Sheikah under the orders of the Royal family, to do many unspeakable things that the kingdom Hyrule has ever witnessed." Time looked away as he swallowed thickly. By the Goddesses he hated having to relive the memories of terror this place gave him.

  
  


"So... what's further ahead of us?" Four questioned, and Time sighed heavily. He knew he'd have to explain his thoughts and theories on this. He had some proof, but the rest was speculation on his part.

  
  


Sheikah don’t keep records of the unspeakable acts they do in the name of the Royal family. What doesn’t exist, can never be proven.

  
  
  


_Wind was officially lost. It was dark, he was trudging through some kind of thick water, and he couldn't find where he was supposed to go! So far he's managed to fall through the floor and landed in some weird cavern, sneaking past the ReDeads that sat curled up in the corners. He then found himself staring down the biggest fucking spider he has ever seen in his life before he scrambled away._

  
  


_He didn't have any of his weapons, had nothing to help him, so he was a sitting duck! Right now he was in front of a weird snake-like statue that spewed out water, but he couldn't make out any distinct details of the area._

  
  


_What was he supposed to do? Where was he supposed to go?_

  
  


_The sound of sniffling caught his attention. He lifted his head, looking around as the noise echoed across the stonework, the drip of water distorting it slightly but he could hear it. He could feel his ears moving to try and catch the sound better, and he followed after a moment._

  
  


_There, in the shadows, he saw the figure of a person, crouched down. The voice sniffled and the cry was girly, and Wind was worried about who else could be down here? What little girl was stuck down in this place too?_

  
  


_Maybe it was a trap…._

  
  


_"Big brother... where are you?" She asked, and he realized who that voice belonged to!_

  
  


_"A-Aryll?" He asked, his voice a whisper as he drew close. The sound of her foot scraping as he saw the shadow move, and he could see her. It was really her! Her face was dirty, covered in mud and something else, hair having fallen out of her pigtails, while her purple dress was just covered in filth and torn, but she wasn't hurt._

  
  


_"Big brother!" She cried out, and Wind instantly was pulling her into his arms, hugging her for dear life and gently shushing her. It would do them no good to try and attract anything’s attention down here._

  
  


_"What... how did- Why are you here!?" He asked, kneeling down to see her face clearly. She sniffled, managing to take her grubby hand and wipe her face, making it worse._

  
  


_"I-I don't know! One minute I was with Gramma, and then the next, I'm here! I'm scared! I wanna go home!" She wailed, and Wind had to pull her into another hug to muffle the noise once more._

  
  


_"Let's get you out of here. Then.. then I have to come back and be the others," Wind said, pulling her back to look at him in the face. She sniffled and nodded._

  
  


_"Do you know anything? Or are you just as lost as I am?" Wind asked. Aryll gave a hum in thought, trying to look around as she seemed confused._

  
  


_"I... I think... maybe that way? There might be a tunnel we can go through? But it's under the water?" Wind gave a groan but nodded. It was worth a shot._

  
  


_If only he could see though!_

  
  


_With her cold hand held in his, Wind walked on with her trailing beside him, looking around corners to make sure that they weren't going to run into something. He would stop and listen, but soon they came to that one room again, where the large pool of water in the center was._

  
  


_"Here?" He asked and Aryll gave a nod, letting go of his hand to move over to it, looking down in the pit under the water._

  
  


_"Yeah..." Wind frowned as he looked in, trying to see through the darkness but it was difficult._

  
  


_"How do you know about this?" He asked her and she frowned._

  
  


_"I think I overheard the lady talk about it..." She mumbled, and that made Wind’s mind halt. Lady?_

  
  


_"Wait, what?" Wind asked, but he didn't get an answer as Aryll turned and gave a scream. Wind turned, only to suddenly be grabbed and held up by the front of his shirt._

  
  


_"Aw look! It seems I finally caught you, you little sea rat!" The figure said, the feminine voice rough with a nasally tone, and he could see how her eyes glowed in the darkness an eerie blue._

  
  


_Like ghost lights!_

  
  


_"Let me go!" He shouted, kicking and trying to pry her fingers free so he could run, but she was stronger than she looked._

  
  


_"Aww... you wanna leave that badly?" She questioned, a pout in her tone but he knew it was fake. Especially when her face drew near and he could see the toothy grin on her face, full of fangs and evil intent._

  
  


_"Then maybe you should leave here as a dead body!" She cackled, removing her hand from his shirt only to wrap it around his neck. He choked, trying to wiggle his fingers under to keep breathing._

  
  


_"Aryll run!" Wind managed to shout at his sister, hoping she would get away before she was caught too. However, he didn't get the chance to see if she ran before he was being plunged into the icy water behind him. He held his breath, struggling to get his feet out and attempt to kick the arm but she was angling him enough to prevent that._

  
  


_Just as his world was about to go fuzzy, she pulled him up, loosening her hold on his neck enough to let him gasp for air rapidly. He took the stale, rotting air in greedy gulps, lungs burning from how long he held it._

  
  


_"Aww, now you really do look like a sea rat now. All washed up and begging for air!" She gave a laugh, and Wind cracked an eye open to see her smiling at him, white hair falling in her face as her smile looked deranged._

  
  


_"Let's see how else you'll look when you’re all bloated like a leech." Wind managed to grab one more gulp of air before she squeezed and pushed him back into the water. It was so cold, like ice cubes that froze him to the core. He scratched and clawed at her wrist, but she didn't waver in her grip. His lungs burned, his head spun. He wanted air! He needed to_ BREATHE _!_

  
  


_Again she lifted him up, and he only barely caught a few gulps of air before he was plunged back down. This went on over and over again._

  
  


_"Heh heh.... you're almost done, aren't you? Had enough yet?" She asked, but he couldn't respond, floating limply in the water as his world spun and he felt so sick to his stomach._

  
  


_He was plunged under the water again, and he struggled once more, but he was so weak. He could feel the world growing dark, darker...._

  
  


_Is this really how he ends?_

  
  


_The sound of water draining rushed in his ears as he felt himself going lower and lower and suddenly his face broke through the surface, and he gasped for air once more, just as his assailant's grip loosened and he floated on the water._

  
  


_He heard her scream and he opened his eyes, seeing that she disappeared in shadowy tendrils, a large piece of wood having been shoved into her from behind._

  
  


_The bitch deserved it..._

  
  


_Wind felt himself settle on the stonework, and he looked up at the ceiling for a moment. His vision swam as he felt so disorientated. He struggled to get onto his side, and then suddenly he felt his stomach pinch in pain._

  
  


_He coughed, and coughed, gasping for air as he struggled to catch his breath now, and suddenly he felt his stomach lurch so painfully. The acidic bile burned his throat and he felt it pour out, but he still tried to breathe._

  
  


_He felt so drained, unable to move. Suddenly a cold hand on his back was there, grounding him as he expelled everything. He took in shaky gasps of air, feeling his arms quiver to try and hold himself up. Why was the world so strange?_

  
  


_He looked up, unable to hear what Aryll was saying as his vision spotted, panting for air. Her worried face turned into something so strange. Alabaster white and eyes hollow. But when he blinked, she was back to normal._

  
  


_Why did she look so pale? Why did her eyes look so black and soulless? No. No he was just losing his mind. He almost lost his life. He had to be seeing things!_

  
  


_"I... I think I'm good," he managed out, coughing up more fluid as he struggled to catch more air._

  
  


_"If you say so, big brother," she whispered, and then she turned to the opening, just on the ground level. It was big enough for them to squeeze through easily, but Wind barely had the strength._

  
  


_He had to do it. He had to get Aryll to safety!_

  
  


_"We don't have much time before the water comes back! Let's get going!" She urged, and Wind nodded. She crawled forward first, and Wind managed to crawl through it as well._

  
  


_He stumbled as he stood back up, his world spinning again before he managed to get forward. He heard Aryll scream as a large spider with a skull-shaped carapace came down in front of some wire going up the cliff, blocking the way. Wind gave a grunt as he tried to find something to get it to go away, but Aryll was quicker, scrambling just on the edge as quickly as her little legs could take her up. Perfect!_

  
  


_He sluggishly moved away from the spider, coughing up more fluid that had settled into his lungs, before he dragged himself up. He managed to make it up in time to avoid a bite to his foot._

  
  


_"This way!" Aryll called out, the door ajar in her hands as she motioned for him to follow. Gasping for air, Wind struggled onto his feet to follow through, trying to get away from the oversized spider that was attempting to latch it's fangs into him. Making it past the threshold of the door, he slammed the metal door closed on a spindly leg, watching it twitch on the earth beneath his... wait. What was that?_

  
  


_Wind blinked as he looked down in the loamy soil, seeing a large white thing sticking out. Through his dizziness, he knelt down to push dirt aside and revealed it was a bone. He frowned, bringing it up with him as he stood._

  
  


_"Aryll?" He asked, turning to see her standing in the middle of the room. She just blinked at him, and he could see suddenly in the room that the soil wasn't really soil, but the rotting remains of so many bodies. Bones stuck out everywhere, the smell was something Wind has never even begun to imagine, making him gag and dry heave it all clicked into place._

  
  


_**This was a dumping ground for bodies!** _

  
  


_"It's okay, Big Brother," She said, her voice slowing down as she gave a wide smile. Wind struggled to breath as he coughed up more, his vision swimming again and he swore Aryll was no longer there. It was some weird, white thing, but then he blinked and she was there again._

  
  


_"You don't have to worry any more. We can be together and play forever... and ever..." she started, her voice normal before starting to distort to a lower tone, and then he watched as she suddenly began to shift._

  
  


_Her whole body began to swell, skin stretching and bloating, turning a deathly white with red splotches, her hands turning into pointed stubs covered in blood, and then her face! It stretched out, eyes turning into black hollows, her mouth opening up wide like some Boko Baba, her hair falling off in large clumps to the ground as her neck elongated._

  
  


_No longer was she Aryll, but a monster that he has never ever seen before, and it terrified him! He scrambled to turn away and tried for the door, but it was barred shut and he couldn't get it to move._

  
  


_"Let me out!" Wind screamed, hyperventilating as the monstrous thing began a weird shuffle towards him, long white hands now digging their way up from the ground, bones exposed at the fingertips and stained red, sharped into claws._

  
  


_He tried to get away from the shuffling of this thing, but as he passed by one of the hands, he was caught around the head by its claws, keeping him in place. He struggled to get free, attempting to pry the bony fingers off, but he suddenly couldn't get his breath again. He stopped moving, coughing up thick fluid as he fell to the ground to struggle for air again. He managed to look up, just as the monster came up to him, lowering its head and opened its mouth so wide he could stare into the abyss of its mouth._

  
  


_He only had enough strength to scream in agony and fear as pain exploded in his whole being, and his world faded into nothingness._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that was a doozy of a chapter. It went from 5 to 100 really quick. For any triggering tags I may have forgotten, please inform me and I will tag accordingly.
> 
> If you made it this far, thank you for reading! and I appreciate the comments you leave me! I wish to also apologize for how long it took me to update. Take care~


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which more dark things happen and a plot finally appears

The group had spent enough time recovering as they had listened to Time explain a bit more history about the Shadow Temple, both what he does know and what was speculated by him for a while. He even explained to them what he did remember about what awaited further ahead of them in the temple, and the possible things they could encounter. It took some explaining to Legend and Four about how many things were illusions, showing them the Lens of Truth and what it revealed to those that didn't have the second sight. Especially when they could see the death trap that was hidden in plain sight from behind them.

The group had made it across the way to the platform that Time had fought the Stalfos, the marks from where swords had gouged into the stonework still fresh, they looked forward to their goal ahead. A large area that was encircled by two Blade Traps and a Beamos in the center, it's eye looking out to try and see any intruders. But to get there, they had to cross the large chasm that stopped them. The sound of a chain being pulled by some mechanism echoed, low and groaning, and they could see the chains lifting a large section of the floor up to a certain height, and then it would drop down, stopped only by some mechanism with the pulley system.

“So... we gotta cross over to this to make it over there?” Four asked Time, scratching his head as he looked at the distance between where they were standing, and to the platform that was rising back up.

“Correct. If I remember correctly in that room,” here Time paused, pointing off past the Beamos to a barred entry way. “That there is something important in there. Like a key.” A few others hummed in thought as they tried to guess how far they would have to jump to make it further.

“So... why are there silver-looking Rupees all around there?” Warriors questioned as he looked at the scattered jewels ahead of them around the Beamos. Time gave a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Honestly? I think the Sheikah were trying to send a message about greed and being blinded by it. I still don't understand how it ties in to unlocking doors.” He had pondered over why there were puzzles like that in his adventures, but after all this time, he still hadn't figured it out.

“Does anyone know the value of them?” Hyrule asked curiously, away from the edge as he looked over warily. Time gave a contemplative hum as he tried to remember.

“Not much value to them in Hyrule. They're worth about as much as a Blue Rupee. Termina on the other hand...” Time trailed off as Legend gave a noise of astonishment.

“Five!? Only Five!? They're worth 100 in my era!” Time gave a shrug to the Veteran hero.

“That's how much they're worth in Termina as well. But here, they’re not much.” The way Legend was looking at him showed he wanted to reach out and strangle someone. Time would prefer it wasn’t him.

“As entertaining as this is, I think we have some more pressing matters,” Warriors piped up, and Time nodded in agreement. There were more important things to worry about. Specifically, about finding the others in this hell hole.

“Okay so... how do we cross?” Four finally piped up again, kneeling down to go digging in his satchel.

Time motioned to the platform that continued to raise up and down as they had been speaking. "We jump over onto this, and then we jump over to that side. If you happen to have something that could either help you glide or, like me, hover over, it would help."

He heard Four hum in thought, as Legend did the same, now all of them searching for items to get them across the way safely.

"What about my Roc's Cape?" Four asked, holding out the blue fabric up as he looked at Time. "It gives me a short distance to glide in the air, kinda like Wild. But it doesn't last long." Time gave a hum in thought as he gauged the distance to the best of his ability, and finally nodded.

"It should work. Just try not to glide into those and you should be fine," Time offered as he pointed to the one Blade Trap that was making the larger circle around the Beamos.

"I don't think I've got anything to help," Warriors commented as he searched his satchel, frowning as he looked to the pair of Power Gloves he had, before stowing them away once more.

"I've got my own cape too, but maybe wonder boy here could use it more than me," Legend offered with a smirk as the Captain gave him a glare, flicking out his own cape to show it was a bit larger than Four’s perfect to fit Warriors.

"That might be for the best. You do have your Pegasus boots to get you a bit more momentum," Time offered, but he looked at the veteran hero up and down for a moment.

"You sure you're alright? We can rest a bit longer if necessary."

"No. I'm fine. I just want out of this damn creepy place. I thought the Skull Woods, or the Ancient Tomb were creepy, but this.... this is on a whole other level." Time didn't recognize the names of any of those locations, but they didn't have time to dwell on it.

"Veteran, go ahead and let the Captain have your Cape. Traveler, can you still make that jump like before?" Time questioned, making the other Hero jump before he gave a nod.

"I... I think I should have enough magic for it." Time didn't like the sound of that, but he offered a nod of consideration.

"Alright. So when it makes it's drop down, we all need to make it across. I don't think at the same time though." The other's nodded and Time watched the timing for a moment, and when the platform dropped, Time took a quick run forward and jumped, landing with a roll before he stopped. He heard a grunt beside him to see Four was there first, the cape still in his hands. Hyrule was next, but he landed in a heap on his stomach, giving a pained whine at the impact.

Time reached out and helped him stand up, the platform now too high up for Warriors and Legend to make it across safely. Time looked at the two beside him and motioned them aside. They watched for a moment as it rose higher and higher, before they all gave a yelp of surprise when their stomachs dropped with the falling of the platform.

Warriors had tied the cape on and managed to glide over, though his landing could use some work. Legend was last, coming to stand beside them with ease.. Now, comes the more difficult part. Time pulled on the inserts that created the Hover Boots once more, frowning as the platform began to rise up once more. Taking a few steps back before he took a running start, and he managed to make it across to the other side. Legend did the same to follow him, though he landed with little grace as he tripped and nearly fell face first. The motions made his tunic flip up, and Time was thankful that he wore shorts under the tunic, as he doubted he wanted to know the color of Legend’s undergarments.

Warriors followed next, though his glide was anything but graceful as he landed ass over kettle, Legend unable to hold his snickers of laughter as he looked down at the other before helping him up. Hyrule and Four were unable to follow after them when the platform dropped again, leaving the other three to watch helplessly as they waited. Slowly it began to rise again, and Time took off the golden inserts once more to stow away, just as the other two moved aside to let Hyrule and Four attempt to make it across safely.

Time saw Hyrule and Four look at each other as they passed up on the platform, before Hyrule made his jump across, landing in a roll successfully before Four was making a leap, his cape outstretched like wings to allow him to glide in the air for a short time before he gave a yelp as he dropped suddenly. Time thankfully reached his arms out and caught the other Hero safely, giving an amused smirk to the shortest one who lay in his arms like a bride.

"Nice landing."

"Nice catch." Setting him down, Time glanced to see the others were looking around the platform they had just found themselves on. Time didn't say anything as he took another bomb and lit the fuse, rolling it to land just at the base of the Beamos that was just out of range for its eye beam. The explosion rocked the floor that made the enemy follow along, everyone grimacing at the gruesome death.

"Collect these rupees, don't get hit by the traps?" Legend asked and Time gave a nod of agreement. It wasn't hard with five heroes going after five rupees. With all of the useless gems collected, they got out of the danger zone of the spike traps, and through the narrow doorway into another hall, the sound of something large and heavy sounding like it was being lifted and dropped continuously further down the hall.

"What is the point of that mechanic again?" Legend questioned as he looked the gem over with a critical eye and Time just sighed. Didn’t he just explain this to them?

"I've said it before, but I still don't know."

"It was a rhetorical question, Old Man," Legend grumbled as they began to move forward, stepping over old rotten beams and some dirt that littered the floor.

The next room had everyone freezing, watching as between the two long rows of cells that lined the way, the crushing sound had been echoing now revealed to be two large crushers, their bottoms tipped with thick, metal spikes that had various bones and dried blood stuck to them. Over and over they dropped, making it impossible to escape easily.

"What... What is this?!" Four asked over the cacophony of noise from the crushers. Time swallowed as he tried to remember how to get past this room, seeing the same creepy face relief on the ground before the long walkway forward towards the cells.

"I think we all know the real answer, Smithy," Legend managed out behind Time. His gut told him that the others were certainly not used to this kind of gruesome scene. He still wasn’t comfortable with what he was witnessing either.

"What's that sign over there?" Hyrule squeaked out, and Time turned to look. Propped up on the wall, broken, dirty, and half rotted, was a simple wooden sign with letters carved into it. He stepped forward and with a gauntlet, brushed off some of the dirt to read the letters better.

'Only on with --- of truth wi ---- umbrella that --- against --- rain of blad' It read and Time frowned. Obviously words and letters were missing, but it did jog his memory. He turned to look around, trying to guess what was amiss without even needing the eyeglass.

The wall that was just beside where they all were standing at was strange. Most of it was discolored with age and the damp sinking into the stone, but there was a section of the wall, almost in a perfect square, that was still new looking. It was suspicious looking. Sheikah magic was good, but sometimes it was too good to be true.

"There," he finally stated as he pointed to the wall, Hyrule now looking over to see it too and he gave a quiet 'oh' in response.

"What are you talking about, Old Man? Is this whole thing another illusion?" Legend asked, leaning against the wall with his hand, feeling nothing was amiss.

"It is another illusion. Traveler, could you give me a hand?" He asked, and the other quickly nodded before they both found the proper hand holds, and began to pull. As the two of them pulled, the large block emerged from the wall; taller than Time, wide enough to fit through the passage between the cells, and thick and sturdy enough to not be crushed under the repetitive weight from the device above.

"Whoa...." Warriors commented as he looked at the large stone before him and then further ahead between the rows of cells.

"We gotta use that?" Legend questioned in disbelief, and Time nodded. A collective groan sounded between them all before two more came up beside him to help pull it out. Then, they began to push forward between the rows of cells, the block heavy and requiring all of their strength to push it forward. They managed to get it ahead enough to catch under the spikes of the crusher before them, stopping it from coming down completely.

"How far do we gotta go?" Warriors questioned, turning to look up at the debris and other bits that were stuck between the large spikes as he fought to catch his breath.

"Until it stops both of these, and then to that ledge ahead," Time grunted out, Four now looking around the bit of the cell he could catch a glimpse into.

"Wait... what's that?" Four questioned, pointing inside the dark cell. They all stopped what they were doing to look where the shortest Hero motioned. The way the dark shadows clung inside the cell, unnaturally thick and obscuring most of their vision, even in an already dark place. But there was something in the blackness that just wasn’t right.

"It's too dark. Does anyone have a lantern?" Warriors questioned as he tried to see inside, eyes squinted to try and focus in the darkness.

"I got it!!" Four offered as he pulled from his pack a small red lantern. He twisted a small knob on the side and with a click, a flame came to life in the glass panes. The warm glow of the lantern made the dark shadows retreat like the tide in the ocean, but it couldn’t have prepared them for the horror they were now bearing witness to.

"Sky!" Time shouted in surprise, trying to push against the bars to get to the other one that was trapped on the other side of them, but they were solid and yielded to no one. Sky was pinned up to the wall with chains, his clothes dirty with blood from cuts, sailcloth torn apart and also covered in blood. His face was obscured by his hair, but Time was more worried about the large stakes in the chains that pinned his torso to the wall, but also the ones that were embedded into his hands, blood dripping down from the wounds that had been holding him. The sight of Sky terrified Time greatly over what he'd suffered in this hellish void.

"How... how did he..." Four whispered, his voice wavering as his eyes were wide in horror, and Time grit his teeth in his frustration before he looked to the stone that was still protecting them from the crusher.

"The entrance is further ahead. The block is our only way to get to it, and that way, we can get him out of there!" Time hissed as he moved quickly over to the stone block and tried to push once more. Warriors and Legend came over as well and the three of them moved the block easily with the aid of their Power Gloves, blocking both crushers from raining down upon them.

Hyrule found the opening in the cell was blocked with some old looking chains, and Legend was over in a flash to grip them with his gloves and rip them from the nails embedded in the wall. Hyrule and Time were over by Sky's side in an instant, trying to see what they could do to get him down.

"How do we get him down?" Hyrule asked and Time worried his lip, trying to puzzle out their situation. They had no red or green potions remaining, and he didn't want Hyrule to strain himself or his magic any more than he has with what he's done for everyone. But it may be their only option.

"How much magic do you have?" Time questioned, looking to the other as he worried his lip. Hyrule looked uncertain as he searched inwards, pursing his lips in thought while his hands fiddled with the bracers on his hands.

"Not a lot... maybe enough to stop at least some major wounds. But I might not..." Hyrule trailed off and Time looked at him urgently. Hyrule swallowed thickly before he continued.

"If I heal the worst injuries first… I’d have to leave his hands last..." The idea of a warrior no longer able to fight was a prospect they couldn't have in this place or in their adventures ahead.

"Let's get him down and then... then we can figure out from there," Time whispered, still not certain himself. Hyrule nodded as he set down his lantern. Time looked for something to try and pry the large stakes out of the wall and from his hands, but he could only think to use the Gilded Sword. It'd have to do.

He pulled out the smaller blade from his satchel and heaved a sigh, looking at the gold and black metal blade with a frown. "This is the only thing I have to pry it loose." Hyrule nodded as Legend came in too, his own face green with worry over the state of their friend. Carefully, Time placed the flat side of his sword against Sky's hand, wiggling it underneath the flat head of the stake.

"I'm sorry," Time whispered, Legend coming up to help. The two of them pulled with the sword. It inched out with a jerk and Sky jerked and gave a sound of pain. Time looked up at the other and saw the other was opening his eyes, seeing they were bloodshot and unfocused.

"Just hold on, Sky. Hold on," Time whispered, reaching his hand up to push his hair from his face. Sky's brow furrowed in confusion as he began to come back into a more conscious state.

"Zel...?" Sky whispered, voice hoarse and croaky as he tried to look around him some more.

"Shh... it's okay," Hyrule whispered, his hands reaching up to help as well. "We're here. It's okay now..."

It was with the power of three heroes with an unbreakable sword that the first stake was removed from his hand. Sky gave a shout of pain as he looked up at them now, awake finally and he looked so confused.

"Where... what-!?" He struggled to comprehend, and Time reached out to put a steady hand on his shoulder.

"Chosen, please don't move. We have to get the others out and keep you still so you don't have permanent damage." Sky gave a shuddering breath as he took in what's going on around him.

"There is one more that we gotta take out," Hyrule stated, and Sky looked to where his other hand was. The way his face twisted into horror made Time's heart sink and he purposely moved Sky's face to look at him.

"Look at me. Just look at me." Sky was starting to hyperventilate and Time gave him a shake to keep him there.

"You will be fine. But you gotta calm down, Sky." He could see the other was still panicking, but he was still there with them. With a nod, they took the Gilded sword and once more began to pull the stake out of his other hand.

Sky's scream of pain echoed across the whole room and further out, and it broke Time's heart. It took another minute, before they stumbled back- Hyrule falling flat on his butt- after removing the stake from his other hand, leaving Sky being held upright from only the chains pinned to the wall. The removal of the chains allowed Sky to be free; tumbling down from the wall into Legend’s arms where he stumbled to hold the taller one up by himself.

"It hurts..." Sky mumbled and Time came up to the other side of Sky to help Legend, slowly walking him out of the cell. They passed by Warriors and Four as they left with the protection of the stone block.

"You're gonna be alright. Just breathe," Time offered for a moment as they came out from the range of the crushers, Warriors and Four now coming over to see how they were doing. Setting Sky down, Legend and Hyrule began to look him over to try and find anything that could be useful to help Sky out in his bags.

"There's a key in the room," Time explained as he looked over at the other two. "Could you two find it? We're gonna need it to proceed forward." Time watched the two nod and they went to go searching for the chest with the key, leaving Time to come over to look at how Sky was doing.

"The wounds on his hands are the worst injury he has, as well as a concussion. But he's also got an infection starting with the various cuts he’s sustained," Hyrule stated, his hand pushing Sky’s bangs from his face to show the fever sweat that dotted his face, his eyes unfocused once again as he sat there. Time could even see the way the other heroes breathing was more rapid now, a big indication that he was fighting off something in his body. 

"Think you have enough magic to heal him?" Time questioned and Hyrule managed a nod as he allowed his hand to drop, resting atop the other’s lap.

"I've got nothing else after this though. So....." Hyrule trailed off and the implication of what could happen later weighed on his heart. Hyrule had no more magic to heal any of them if they got hurt in any way, and no red potions or green potions to help any of them out. With a nod, Time watched as Hyrule pulled forth his small pool of magic and began to try and heal Sky's wounds to the best of his abilities. Legend was still checking out the bags, seemingly growing frustrated at the amount of empty bottles he had.

"He could have something in these things but noooo..." Legend sassed quietly as he tossed the glass vials aside, clearly frustrated at the other Hero who was blessedly asleep once more. Sky would be alright for now... but there was still much to worry about with his progress in healing.

Time looked away from Sky to see how the other two were fairing, seeing how the two of them managed to pull the stone block over to the edge where it only stopped the one crusher, allowing them to get up on top of the cells into the crumbling mess up above.

"I see a chest there," Four called out from atop the block, obscured by the crusher just paces in front of himself. He was pointing to a caged off area, though it wasn't necessarily closed to keep them out.

"What's that thing though?" Warriors asked, pointing to something Time couldn't see. He glanced at them for a moment longer, and allowed himself the chance to look back at Sky.

Hyrule had used the last of his magic, looking pale and shaking with sweat beading his brow, but Sky looked a lot healthier. His skin wasn't so pale, and from what he could see the wounds on his hands would heal nicely. He could see the water skin was next to his thigh where Legend had apparently washed the wounds out as best as he could, and that eased Time's worry some more.

"Will he be alright?" Legend questioned Hyrule, who knelt beside the other and panted, but gave a nod.

"I think so? I did all I could," Hyrule mumbled as he took the water skin that had been beside Sky and drank the rest of it greedily.

"But will you be alright?" Time questioned, ignoring the sound of a chest dropping down from the ceiling behind him to focus more on the other Heroes. He could see how the brunette worried his lip, his eyes shifting down as he fidgeted with the strings of his bracers.

"I... I'll be fine. I think I just need to eat some of Wild's cooking or... or get some more water in me. I'll be okay." Time could tell that it wasn’t the full truth, just that nagging gut feeling.

"Are you sure?" Legend asked, as if sensing Time's own thoughts. "Come on, Traveler. You don't have to hide it from us." Still, the other said nothing, his eyes shifting nervously around him. Time reached out and placed his hand upon Hyrule's shoulder, an attempt of comfort and reassurance for him.

"I would rather know now, then find out later when we're in a worse situation,” he pleaded gently, only to get a sound of dismay from behind him.

"How much worse is this place gonna get, Old man?!" Legend gaped up at Time, disbelief in his icy eyes.

"We have a ways to go, but it's not a winding maze once we go out there further." Time offered as the other two looked to each other. They were interrupted by the sound of Sky giving a moan of pain as his eyes cracked open a bit.

"Hnn... Zelda?" Sky moaned out, his eyes unfocused and Time knelt down in front of him.

"No, it's me, Sky," Time offered before Legend had a chance to make a smartass remark. Sky just gave another pained sound as he lifted a hand, wincing as he rubbed his face with his wrist.

"Where... where is this place?" He asked, and Time gave a brief explanation, just as Warriors and Four jumped down from atop the cell blocks, Four holding onto a small silver key. It was handed over to Time quickly as he placed it securely with his Rupee purse.

"Alright, we can move forward now. Think you'll be okay, Chosen?" Time questioned. Getting a slow nod from the other, they helped lift him to his feet, seeing just how bad of shape he really was. He wasn’t going to be blown over by a strong gust of wind, but he was in no real shape to defend himself or anyone around him.

"I don't think I'll be doing much fighting," Sky offered with a weak smile, and all Time could do was nod in agreement.

The group began to walk through the corridor once again, filling Sky in briefly on what the place was and what he may expect further in. They dodged around the still circling Spike Trap to cross a narrow walkway to another guillotine, where there was absolutely nothing between them and the door ahead except for a long chain extended between two rather odd looking statues.

"So.... more illusions?" Legend asked and Time nodded, pulling out the purple lens and letting everyone peak through. Just beyond the blade from a small jump was a large platform for all of them to jump onto and fit comfortably, and then they could see the second platform being moved back and forth across the chain through some pulley mechanism that they couldn't see.

"We just have to get over this area, and I believe... the illusions lessen as we go further." Time wasn't certain, and yet he had to give them all some hope to keep from losing their minds. The others murmured quietly as they stood there, as if debating on moving forward, but they agreed they couldn’t go backwards either.

Time gave them a nod before he passed under the rising blade of the guillotine, landing on the platform with ease. He stood to the edge, just off to the side to allow everyone else a chance to see where the edge was and get across. One by one everyone made it over, and Time released his held breath. One obstacle down, and one more to go.

He glanced through his lens once more, seeing the moving platform was making it's way over away from them instead of towards them. How to get everyone across and himself without knowing when the platform was in the right spot?

"Okay... this may be difficult..." Time mumbled as he searched through his satchel for something to be a marker. Something… anything!

_ "Need..." _ He heard something whisper and Time whipped his head around, trying to see if it was any of the others that had said something but they looked just as confused by the sound they heard.

"What was that?" Four asked, looking above and around him curiously as Legend jumped when Warriors accidentally brushed his hand up his back.

"I'm not sure..." Time mumbled with a frown before he was searching his bag once more, and finally found something.

It was just a small little bag, which contained a powdery substance. Chalk. He usually used it in marking the horses or cattle for sale to the buyers back at the ranch. It would serve a new purpose now. But why did he have it though? He didn't recall bringing this with him at all from the last time they had been on the Ranch...

"Let me cross over to it and I'll mark around the edges, just so we know where we can jump from," Time explained letting a little of the chalk sprinkle back down into the bag. He glanced through his lens real quick and saw the edge of their current platform.

" _ Hun....gry..."  _ The voice drifted across the dark abyss that they stood in, and Time felt a shiver go through him.

"Okay, so you guys heard that as well, right?" Hyrule asked and Time could hear them give sounds of agreement. This is getting bad. Time looked through the magical lens and when the platform was close enough, he jumped over, landing safely as he began to mark the edges of the moving platform for the others, even as the platform began to move from side to side again.

_ "Need... food..." _ Time could feel a knot of anxiety coiling in his stomach. The voice was seemingly growing closer but there was no sign of where it was, or what it was even. It unnerved him greatly. Finally, he had the edges marked and one by one, they began to make the leap across when they had the chance.

When all but Four and Hyrule had jumped across to the second platform, which was now across the way and where they couldn’t make the jump over, Time jumped over to the door and found it was locked. Just what the silver key was needed for. With a twist of the key, the padlock hit the ground and the chains fell away, allowing them further entry to delve deeper into the dark depths of the Temple.

_ "I'm  _ **_HUNGRY_ ** _!!" _ Something shouted from behind them, and they turned just to see from the depths of the darkness below them long white hands erupted from the depths below, two clamping onto the platform that Four and Hyrule were on, and another two reaching out to grab each of the two. Four had attempted to roll out of the way of the grasping claws, but he lost his footing at the edge and began to fall, only to be snatched up. Hyrule took his shield and bashed at the hand, but it was only a distraction.

" **NO!** " Time exclaimed in horror as Hyrule was then snatched up by his own tunic, and both of them were dragged down into the depths of the abyss, the horror settling in his stomach at being helpless.

"Fuck!" Legend shouted as he lost grip on his Hookshot, which he had the prong latched into the decaying flesh of one of the arms. With a jerk, it wretched itself free from the platform and descended down, taking the tool with it into the black depths of the void.

Time could feel his whole body sag in horror as what just happened hit him. Legend came over and grabbed Time up by the bits of his tunic he could reach, as if trying to haul him up. But when Time saw his face, it wasn't of trying to help, but rage.

"What is down there?!" Legend hissed and Time could feel his heart racing. He didn't know.  _ He didn't know what was down in the darkness. _

"I... I don't know...."

"You don't know!? How could you-"

"Veteran! It's not like he would want to jump down there!" Warriors came over, prying his hands off of Time to try and keep from losing their current leader. Time swallowed as he looked down into the darkness again, and he could feel his whole body just turn hollow.

What was down there? How could he go and save the two that had now been taken from them, just after saving them! Taking in a shuddering breath, Time looked to the squabbling Legend and Warriors before he opened the door with a loud groan.

"I don't know what's down there, and as much as I want to go looking for them, I'm not going to risk everyone going to find them. Maybe... maybe there's a way further ahead that can connect us to them." He could see the doubt that was on Legend's face and he frowned.

"Smithy and Traveler are resourceful Heroes and I have no doubt in my mind that they could take care of themselves. Let's... please let's just go further. Maybe we'll find the others along the way."

The rest of the group didn't look like they believed him, but there wasn't anything he could do. They were sitting ducks in what they could do, and it would only get worse if they continued to stand around and do absolutely nothing. Slowly, they came to a somber agreement to go forward.

Passing through the doorway, the group found themselves in a small room, a doorway leading to the west and a door leading north atop of a platform, the glint of a padlock and chain blocking the path. The floor looked empty, old and covered in years of dust, save for three long patches, and on either walls were two curled up figures. Scattered around the room were, yet again, silver rupees.

Sky made it across into the room, though the moment he passed the threshold the metal door slammed shut, reverberating into the room and making the curled up figures twitched and began to stand up. They were rotting corpses, skin sunken in and sloughing off in varying degrees, their face covered in a wooden mask that was set with only a set of eye holes and a spot for the mouth. Bones could be seen sticking out of their bodies at various points, making Time nauseous at the idea of how long they had been here. There was a groaning noise, as if a person was lamenting how much pain they were in, their faces turning this way and that, before they settled to staring at the ground.

Everyone stood frozen, not wanting to move in case something else was used to set off the ReDeads. When they moved no further, Time carefully turned to the other three and held a finger up to his lips. Silence was their key here.

Legend began to walk forward, his footsteps whisper quiet, sword drawn as he tried to circle around one of the Redeads. However, as he got further in, Legend stifled a yelp when he bumped into something, blood now beginning to well up from his thigh down as he looked to see something had impaled him there.

Another twitch from the reanimated corpse as it turned its head, seeing the wooden mask staring at them but it made no movement to walk towards him. Time swallowed thickly as he glanced at the other one and saw it stayed still.

Sky was about to go before Time pulled the lens out, and a quick look made Time stop the other hero, moving forward himself to pull Legend off of the ground spike that was now stabbing into his leg.

_ 'This is getting really bad,' _ Time thought to himself as he tried to find the right tactic to go about this. How could he direct them through this place when they couldn't see anything past the illusions?

He just wanted to see the sunlight again.

Wait! That's it! Time fumbled around his bags once more to find a very innocent item and found himself giving a smile, though with how everything was, it must have looked hysterical. Especially when the Captain gave him a look.

“Why are you gonna play a song!?” He hissed at him, and Time turned to look at the other with a chuckle.

“Because sometimes, there's magic in the notes,” he explained as he pulled out a very old but familiar Ocarina from his hip, the blue color still rich and vibrant to this day. How did the notes go again? Ah yes!

_ The Rising sun will eventually set, a newborn's life will end, _

_ From sun to moon, moon to sun... _

_ Give peace to the living dead. _

It was three simple notes that he played, remembering long ago when he had first learned about the world outside the forest. He watched with a single eye as suddenly, the movements ceased and the ReDeads froze in place, their sounds stopping. He lowered the instrument as the other three stood flabbergasted, and Time gave a smirk.

"I think we should take care of them now while we have the chance. Unless you wish to have them back up and moving around." Legend gave him a withering look as he was pressing his hand to his impaled leg, attempting to slow the flow of blood.

"What the hell kinda magic is that?"

"Some songs just have magic to them, Veteran. This is one of them." He saw Legend flinch at that, but Time didn't have any moments to ponder it as he turned to the one that was behind them.

"Follow along the wall so you won't run into any spikes."

With himself and Warriors the only one really able to fight, it was easier for both of them to go after one each. The living corpses were soon dispatched, their anguished groans dissipating in the air as they fell to the ground, as finally allowing themselves to rest.

"So... how do we..." Legend began, pointing at the way two rupees hung in the air with nothing showing to grab onto with a hook shot or even climb up to get. Time just gave him a look as he held out the Lens once more.

"Illusions."

"The Sheikah really do like their illusions, huh?" Legend grumbled as they looked into the Lens to see the large group of spikes hanging out in the middle of the room, limping along from the gouge in his leg that stained one of the spikes that he'd run into.

"Oh don't I know it," Captain muttered with a frown, and Sky heaved a sigh.

"The Sheikah clan are proficient in magic, I will agree. But the last time i saw one..." he trailed off with a sad look before he glanced around. Time gave a nod as he began to collect the damn useless items.

Suddenly, he heard a dull metal 'thunk' behind him and turned, only to see Sky was on the ground, his Clawshots in his hands, as he laid there, wheezing in pain. From the looks of it, the metal guard of the item protected his wrist from grazing into the spike, and Time moved over to check on him. He was lucky he didn’t impale himself on the spikes themselves. The way Sky held his arm gave Time more to worry about.

"What happened?" Time questioned, trying to piece together what he had missed while not looking.

"Hurts to move fingers," Sky managed out through grit teeth, and Time frowned as he looked at Sky's hand once more. He could see where the large nail had gone through the middle of his hand, having slipped between the bones in his palm, but he flipped the hand over to look at the back and flexed a few of Sky's fingers. The way some of the tendons moved worried him, especially since Hyrule wasn't here to help and they didn't have any help from fairies to try and help with more repair.

"I don't think I'm gonna be of much use to you guys..." Sky mumbled, looking away to his other hand which held the same wound. Time gave a sigh as he rubbed his back.

"We'll all make it through here, one way or another." He looked over to see Legend getting back to his feet as well, Warriors having stopped their own plans of reaching the silver rupee and began to try and patch up Legend. Though judging by the stain on Warriors shoulder, it was possible that Legend was more than willing to power through pain to get through anything.

Time looked to the group for a long moment, and then to the doorway that was now open for him. He could have the other's join him, or they could stay in the relative safety of the other room and he could investigate it with no troubles.

"I think you guys should stay put," he began, tone firm as he hoped to keep them in place. Their incredulous looks spoke volumes more than what their voices were, and he had to keep them there.

"It's safer for you guys, two of whom are injured, to stay here where we have cleared it out. I doubt there is anything too dangerous in the next room, and I don’t need everyone to watch my back." He could see that they were skeptical again, but finally he got a nod from all three of them.

He stepped into the room and glanced around. The blue light of the torches gave a dark ambience to the stonework as they cast their glow from the wall, and the large skull statue with blue flames coming from the top, allowing the room to be brighter than with just the few torches.

He heard the telltale squeaking of Keese that flew around in the room, and he saw at least three more roosting up the top of a set of four stone platforms that acted as steps. Closing the door to prevent any enemies escaping, Time pulled out his bow and took aim at one of the flying beasts.

The arrow shot clean through, just before the creature could pass through the magical flames to encase itself in dark fire. It left him with no chance to see the other one do the same with his blind side. Glancing around once more, Time tried to catch sight of the slippery bugger, before he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

With a grunt, Time rolled out of the way from a dive bomb attack, and turned to see that it had smacked into the wall, extinguishing it's fire as it flapped around in a daze. Time nocked another arrow and let it fly, pinning the bat-like creature into the wall. Just three more to go.

He looked back upwards to where they had been roosting up above and he frowned. They were just out of his line of sight! He'd have to climb closer before he could dispatch them and safely complete the task of this room. After a quick count of his remaining arrows- only ten remaining- Time began to climb up the large steps, getting closer and closer before he finally got one in view.

He pulled back on the string of his bow, and aimed, before he caught one of the first with an arrow. It gave a dying squeak before becoming nothing. Another one was just in sight and that allowed him the chance to pull back another to let it fly. Just one more. But it was still out of sight. One more step up, and he finally saw it. Thought it was right next to a bomb flower. He pursed his lips as he let loose the arrow. But it was just off course, and it landed squarely into the budding flower of the bomb-like plant, causing an explosion to rock the room.

The Keese was dead though.

Time climbed the rest of the way up, kicking away the shattered remains of the arrows that he'd used, and glanced back at the large skull statue. He could leave now, the bars that had kept him locked inside were gone. But there had to have been something in here. Especially since the way forward was locked.

He took a glance to the plants once more, then to the flaming statue. Oh. Right. Just when one of the Bomb Flowers budded back up, Time picked it, the fuse igniting right away, and he turned and chucked it into the statue.

It arched over the blue fire and landed with a thunk into the statue, before there was yet another explosion. Time ducked down as wooden debris flew everywhere, having covered his face with his arms. After a moment, he glanced up to see he had aimed true, seeing a glittering silver key was laying on the ground.

Hopping down, Time stepped onto the stone platform that the statue had been resting on when he felt it. It was like a pulse of magic through him, small, frightful, but it was strong with life and warm. He could recognize what it was, and he found himself giving a sigh of relief. This was a spark of hope for them all! He raced over to the door and stuck his head out, seeing that the others were settled to try and get a bit more comfortable while they had waited for him.

"Hey, come here guys." He ushered them into the other room, seeing their hesitation. When all of them were back inside, Time watched them look around the confines of the room and then to him.

"What's going on? Have you lost your mind at last?" Legend asked and Time shook his head.

"No, but there's something here that will help us. Far more than the key going forward." Time explained as he reached out to pull his Ocarina out once again.

"What are you gonna play now?" Sky questioned, and Time paused before he was about to play.

"There’s a fairy in here, hidden away from the darkness, and it can certainly help us. Especially with your wounds," Time stated, and he wasted no time before he played a simple song. In the distance of the temple, they heard the distant sound of thunder rumble, as if signifying a storm passing by.

While they were curious about what the song would do, their attention was drawn to the swirl of light that arose from the center of the platform, coalescing into a large, glowing yellow ball. Time held his hand out to it as it floated around, as if dazed and confused, and then settled into his open palm.

"My friends and I could use your help. Could you please grant us this small wish?" Time asked gently. The light pulsed for a moment before it lazily floated up in the air, then began to circled them. Warm magic gathered around them, and Time released a tense breath he didn't realize he'd been holding as he allowed the magic to wash over him. A glance to see that Legend was peeling away the gauze from his leg wound to see the injury was fading away, and Sky was watching his hands as the marks faded. Even Warriors looked a bit more stable as well, color that Time didn't notice had been absent returning. They all looked healthy enough to continue forward without being pushed over by some grunt enemies.

"What was that?" Sky asked curiously as the little glowing ball drifted upwards, before blinking out in a sparkle of lights that turned into nothingness, the room now only aglow with the blue flames of the torches.

"Not all spirits are evil or hold onto old grudges," Time began as he reached out to Sky's hands, checking to see how he flexed his fingers. It still made him frown with how the tendon moved in the back of his hand but it was significantly better than before.

"In this case, they were spirits who had felt unable to move on, but wished to help instead of harm. I suspect the Goddesses had found their plight admirable, and turned their energy into a Big Fairy," he offered as an explanation, Legend and Warriors nodding in understanding.

"But why did it just... disappear like that?" Sky asked again, rolling his wrists with a wince as the bones crackled and popped. Time sighed heavily as he looked away.

"Once a fairy's purpose is fulfilled, it no longer exists. So for that Fairy, the spirits could finally pass on." It was silent as everyone processed that, before they all quietly bowed their heads, a moment to give thanks for the gift of life. Nothing left to say, they stepped out of the room, closing the door softly behind them. In the main room once more, Time motioned up to the door that was still locked upon the pedestal and frowned. How were they...

"Right. Illusion," he mumbled as he found his Lens of Truth once more and glanced through it. Sure enough, on the ceiling above the platform where the door was, he could see a small target for one with a Hookshot to latch onto. Letting each of them to look through the lens, Time allowed them see the truth before them.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but I can't reach up there. You know, since my Hookshot is down in that abyss where Smithy and Traveler fell down into." Time frowned as he glanced at Warriors and Sky again.

"What about you two?" He was already thinking on how he could try and get them up in one way or another.

"I think I've got one..." Warriors mumbled as he began to search his bags, and Sky reached for one of his Clawshots, testing his hand. He winced again, though the metal wrist guard prevented Time from seeing what would cause it.

"It still hurts to move it in certain ways... but I can power through it if I had to." By this time, Warriors had pulled out a Hookshot of his own and frowned, clearly confused. Time just raised an eyebrow at him, remembering when a few times that the other had used it in the battlefields long ago.

"Huh... I guess I do have one."

"Glad to see you finally got something of use," Legend's snarky retort had the other send a glare in his direction, and Time just sighed. He let both Sky and Warriors aim up first, having to find the target with the truth of the Lens, and when they stood atop the platform, Time pressed his back to the wall and cupped his hands at his knees, looking at Legend.

"I'll boost you up and they  _ should _ ," he stressed the word, looking up at the other two Heroes, "be able to reach down and help you up."

Legend took the offered boost up, and Time looked to see that Warriors and Sky did indeed reach down to help him up top. Now he had to get up there himself. He took aim with his own Hookshot, and when he had it centered he fired, allowing himself to be pulled up.

"Ack! Careful there, Old Man!" Warriors shouted when Time nearly dropped on his head, and Time frowned. It was his fault for standing under the target. But he gave a small shrug to the younger man, and pulled out the key from his belt, turning it in the lock before the door. The padlock fell to the ground, chains disappearing with it, and they could step through. Twisting the doorknob, Time glanced through the doorway to find the hall was... empty?

He frowned as he stepped in, the hallway before them making a sharp turn to the right, but he couldn't see anything off about the cold stone before them. The other three followed after him, and that's when he heard it. It was a low whining noise, almost mechanical, before it started to grow faster and faster, and then he could feel the air shift, blowing against them gently even though the sound of wind rushing past roared in their ears.

"What was that?" Legend asked from behind Time. The older hero heaved an exasperated breath as he looked back at them.

"You may want to put your hat away, Veteran. Unless you want to lose it..." The glare he got was amusing, but he didn't care about the heat behind it as he stepped forward. Looking around the corner, he was immediately buffeted by a strong wind force, and he could see the large fan that was at the end of the hall. It was shaped to look something akin to a monster, with a set of eyes looking forward, large pointed ears, but it's mouth was the fan, with the blades now starting to slow down, allowing the air to still for a moment or two.

"We have to get through this hallway. I hope you guys have something to weigh yourselves down with." A collective groan told Time the answer for them was a resounding 'no.' Great...

After a minute, they were able to hear the second fan that started just a minute after the first one, allowing them a glimpse into the notion that there was more than one that was before them.

"So how are we gonna get through here?" Sky questioned curiously as Time began to dig around his satchel, his hair obscuring his face as he looked through the sack.

"Well... we're gonna have to bolt through the room as quickly as we can, and then I gotta put thes-yewoch!" Time yelped in pain, stopping mid-sentence when he had pulled out his Iron boots, intent on only just showing them a little to the others but he made the mistake of pulling them out completely.

And one dropped onto his foot.

"Oof... That looked like it hurt," Warriors commented with a wince, kneeling down as he helped remove the heavy weight off Time's foot to allow the other to mutter curses and hold onto his now sore toes.

"Gonna live, Old Man?" Legend asked, his tone crossed between amusement and worry.

"Not the first time I've dropped them, doubt it'll ever be the last," Time muttered, flexing his toes in the boot to find they were still intact, just going to be sore for a while.

"How heavy are they?" Sky questioned, poking the covering curiously as the fans began to start back up again.

"Heavy enough to keep me from being pushed over by the wind," Time explained as he tested his weight on the foot completely.

"Huh... pretty useful."

"It has some uses, but it's more cumbersome taking them on and off," Time countered Legend's remark, making the veteran hero roll his eyes. After they managed to get the heavy coverings back into Time's satchel, they took the moment to allow the fans to finish their set time.

"Go!" Time urged just as the first fan died down, all four of them moving as quickly as they could down the hallway. They passed the first one, turning the corner back north to see a second fan, which just finished stopping it's movements.

Looking to their right, there was a chasm- and a third fan- with a large wooden beam above the fan as a means of crossing. However, the third fan started to spin once again. Time managed to get the inserts on his boots in time before he held onto both Sky and Legend with each hand, Warriors having to grab onto the straps that kept his breastplate on unless he wished to be blown away.

The wind roared in their ears, ruffling their hair as the second one beside them started up. Time couldn't hear himself think over the noise, but he held his grip for dear life onto his boys, not wanting to lose them down the hallway. The way the noise was so loud though, he swore he could hear something under it all, but there was no way he could decipher anything. It had to be tricks. More Sheikah tricks trying to confuse them. That's the only thing he could explain the wails of pain or fear he could hear in the distance.

Once more, the wind force died down and Time took his chance to remove the inserts, only a few minutes before the fans would start again, and he aimed his Hookshot. Warriors and Sky did the same, and they shot across the chasm, Time holding onto Legend to get him across as well.

Jumping down from the line of sight from the fan, the four looked further on ahead of them, and Legend's groan explained their mood all too well.

"More of them?" Legend questioned as he stared forward. They had a narrow walkway, with a pit on each side that seemed to lead to nothing, but there were fans lining the walls on either side, proving they were far from done with those devices.

Time looked at the other three Heroes, trying to figure out what they should do. There was a door ahead of them, and an eye-like device that was closed. Was there something important in there? Or was there just more cryptic bullshit? Just thinking about it made his head hurt, and he gave a groan of frustration, trying to think it through.

"Memory problems?" Warriors questioned, making Time exhale swiftly from his nose in his frustration.

"Yes... because for some reason I just... I blocked this part of my quest." Time glanced over to see what the others would say, pursing his lips before looking away. To think that he was afraid or traumatized by something in this place, enough to make him have memory blocks. It made him more upset at himself for the memory gaps.

"Is it life-threatening?" Sky questioned, and Time frowned before giving a slow shake of his head.

"I... I don't think so. But I think you three should stay here... or at least make it to the other wall to ensure you're not caught by the winds." They nodded, and Time took a glance up at the closed eye switch above the door, frowning.

He didn't trust it one bit.

He stepped forward some, just a few steps from the path of the wind force, and stopped. Taking his bow out, Time nocked an arrow and aimed at the closed eye for a moment, waiting a breath or two. He released it, watching as it flew true. Just as the metallic eyelid opened, the arrow embedded itself into it.

There was a screech of pain as it disintegrated into fire, leaving nothing behind as it consumed the arrow with it. He only had a few arrows left now, and he knew there was much more ahead of him that would require more. He glanced to the others and then to the way forward. Once again, they were deafened by the roar of fans starting up, and Time took a step back to ensure he wasn't blown away from the force.

“Why were these even set up!?” Warriors shouted, his fingers in his ear to try and preserve some of his hearing as much as he could when Time turned to him.

“No clue!” Time responded with a frown. The force of the wind stopped as the fans died down, allowing them to cross the rest of the way towards the metal door. Time glanced at the other three, hand on the doorknob to turn it when something pricked at the back of his mind. Was there something in there? It felt like an oppressive weight was pulled over him like a woolen cloak, and he struggled to understand why.

“Old Man?” He heard someone talk and he still felt so... frozen. He couldn't figure it out, couldn't understand why he felt so lost even in himself. He felt a hand press itself onto his shoulder and he turned, seeing Warriors was there.

“Are you going to be okay?” He questioned, and Time finally managed to breath in and exhale.

“I... I think so. I'm... I'm not...” he trailed off, before shaking his head. He would be fine. He had to be, for their sake.

“I'll be back. I doubt the room ahead is large enough for us all to fit in.” The other three glanced at each other, before they gave a nod. Time finally turned the knob and stepped inside, door closing with a resounding 'klang' that felt more... final than it meant to be. When his eyes adjusted to the room, he was surprised that... there was a person there.

She stood at a fairly short height, but her bare feet didn't touch the ground as she hovered a few inches in the air, her face blank of expression as her long black hair hung long, floating through the same magic that kept her off the ground. Her attire was simple, a pair of pants and a simple white shirt, though it looked as if the passage of time had taken its toll on the once pristine color. Her eyes were a deep red, like old blood, and the dull expression was enhanced by the deep bags under her eyes. What got him were the large, curled horns on either side of her head, encircling her elven ears.

“So... you've made it this far, Hero of Time,” she whispered, her voice a monotone as she floated before the face relief carved into the wall behind her. “I'm surprised no one else has cracked. But here you are, so close to the end of it all.”

“Who are you?” He asked, his face set in a snarl as he stood, ready to draw his blade if she attacked him.

“You may call me Con. That's the only name you will receive from me.” He saw her eyes shift to take him in, and her hands crackled with a dark energy but it dissipated into nothingness. She wasn’t a part of his last adventure. So something had to be amiss here with her.

“What have you done? Why are we here?” He questioned her as he stood at the ready, trying to find a means of getting behind her with only a single eye to glance around the dirty room.

“I can't say the reason. Just that we had to do what we were told to do by the Dark One,” she responded in the same monotone voice, blinking slowly at him. That gave him nothing to work with, and it infuriated him.

“So you're a pawn like everything else?”

“I consider myself more of a Bishop. I know the in's and out's of the plan, I execute what I need to, but do I hold the same importance as a King and Queen? No. But If you intend to extract information from me, you'll find yourself going in circles. Just like this little adventure you and the others are on will do.” Here, Con floated just a little closer to him, her expression never changing.

“Let's be clear about one thing, Hero of Time. I'm not here to give you all the answers you seek, and I'm not here to let you walk all over me just because Hylia and the other three chose you and those others to bear her light. I dislike what I'm doing, but I have to. There is more at stake for me not doing this, than there is if I comply.” Her blaise attitude wiggled under his skin, irritating him at the fact that she was more willing to do horrible things than to do the right thing.

“I’m here to make sure the plans the Dark One has laid out fall into place. And if that means one or two of you are so hurt by this that you end up failing? That’s perfectly fine. The better for the Dark One to win against nine other heroes.” Time could imagine it now, the others falling down either dead or so traumatized they would be shells of themselves, ripe for the picking to the dark whims and destruction of evil forces. All because of Con and her supposed king in a Flights of Wisdom game.

He grit his teeth in rage, seeing only red as he unsheathed his large claymore and took a swing at her with it, intent on getting that impassive face to change, anything to show that she had some stirring of emotion in those blood red eyes. The world seemed to slow as the blade moved right through her, as if she herself was some sort of spirit or illusion. The tip embedded into the dirt ground beneath his feet, but Time twisted quickly and made a horizontal strike with the large blade, but the same thing. Over and over he shouted his rage and fury at her, stepping closer and closer until he was only inche. Nothing he did seemed to hurt her, not even ruffling her hair or clothing.

“To let your anger overrule your thoughts... really, you are so pitiful to have fallen sway to the dark mask that has burned your face so.” Time froze at those whispered words as she stared at him, blinking slowly to him.

“I would have thought with age you would have gained control over it's rage. But I suppose it’s still there, waiting for you to slip in that perfect control.” She floated back towards the wall again, weaving about in the air slightly as she watched him, her hands now crackling with dark energy again.

“So pitiful for you to think to harm me with a measly blade. Let me show you that I’m very real, and in more control than you ever will be in your pitiful existence,  _ Hero _ .” She was swift as she shot dark energy at him, and he had no means of blocking the attack as it passed through him, burning and electrifying all at once that had him locked in pain, unable to scream. The pain passed and he was left panting, only to suddenly have her foot coming up, her heel spinning around to knock him against the temple and spinning his vision.

He was left kneeling on the dirty ground, gasping for air while his head throbbed in agony. She knelt down, still not touching the ground, and took his chin in her hand to lift his face, her hair a dark curtain that blocked out the little bit of dim light in the room.

“Perhaps you should save your energy for the rest of this place? I'm sure you're worried sick about your boys... but I promise that they won't die. Not directly by my hand or my sister's. But perhaps… yes.” She trailed off as slowly her face twisted into a smile, sad but also frightful as her fingers dug into his chin, her other hand now grabbing his hair and pulling his head back.   
  
“Perhaps I shall show you exactly what the future holds. Maybe then you’ll understand the truth. Maybe you’ll understand why the Hero of Twilight is so attached to you. Maybe I’ll show you the actions that lead to him being the way he is. All, because of what you do in the future.” Time growled as he tried to pry her fingers off of his face, but her nails dug in like teeth, making him wince as he was forced to look at her.

He was enraptured by the way the glowed, like a dark seduction of temptation. Glowing red met dazed blue and milky white, before suddenly his whole world began to be covered in wisps of shadows, until all he saw were those glowing eyes.

**_“Let me show you the truth of what will come, Hero of Time. Let the shadows show you how much of a coward you really and truly are and will always be.”_ **

A bell rang out in the temple, low and somber. Like the call to a funeral march

_ Gong! Gong! Gong! _

_ One more chime until they’re all lost. _

All he could see is darkness now. It was all he was. But in the darkness that he was, he could feel pain. His head hurt, his body hurt. Everything hurt. His blood was fire and ice, his head felt like it would explode, and the air he breathed was sharp like knives.

He had no mouth, but all he wanted to do was scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be honest, I've had the chapter written for a while but it's been a process editing. I'm sorry for taking so long to get this out, but now, now we have more of a whole plot happening. I hope you guys enjoyed reading, and prepare yourselves for the next chapter to come out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we figure out what happened to Four and Hyrule

The first thing to register in his mind was pain. His head throbbed with his pulse, sending nauseating wave after wave of pain through his whole being. The second thing was the cold and wet sensation beneath him. Lifting his head, his vision swam but he was swathed in darkness. Lifting a hand, he couldn't see it in the dark that surrounded him as he pressed it to his skull, the feeling of water gliding down his fingers and hand to his sleeve as he pressed against his hair.

Where was he? And where was Hyrule? He rubbed the tender spot against the side of his head, but found nothing was too amiss. Wrinkling his nose, he could smell something wasn't right. It was a musty, wet earth stench, as if something had been sitting in water too long and had begun to rot.

“Traveler?” He called out, his voice croaking as he tried to gather his bearings. There was a noise to his left and he turned reflexively, but there was nothing in his vision. Four gave a frown as he blindly searched for his pack, and felt around in the magical confines for his lantern. When he felt the familiar handle, he pulled it out, the clatter of other items tumbling out in his haste, and he found the knob.

With a twist, the flame came to life, showering the room in bright light. He winced as it sent a sharp stab of pain into his eye, but he took the chance to look around. The stone work was still glistening with water, as if it had just been emptied, while moss clung to the walls too. He glanced to his left again to finally see the form of Hyrule shifting, face down in the wet earth that they had been laying in. Scrambling to get over, Four checked in the dim light of the lantern if there were any visible injuries on the other.

“Anyone get the name of the Daira that hit me?” Hyrule asked with a groan, his eyes pinched shut in pain before blinking them open. Four gave a sigh of relief to see that at least someone was alive with him.

“Sorry. If I did, I'd wanna know the names of the Darknuts too,” Four commented, giving a slight laugh as he looked around. He worried his lip as he tried to figure out what room they were in, and where the rest of the group was. It was silent as they both sat and took stock of their situation and each other.

“What is this place?” Hyrule questioned and Four gave a shrug, looking around the room as best as he could.

“I'm not sure...” He mumbled. The room itself was small, the floor was covered in silt and rotting mud. It was dank and wretched. Turning around, the wall showed only a single metal door, water just under the space that rippled, as if there had been movement through it. Four glanced at Hyrule again to see he was checking his pack, and Four looked to see what had clattered out of his own, seeing the Gust Jar and Mole Mitts had tumbled out in his haste to retrieve his lantern.

"I still don't have anything," Hyrule mumbled, taking a rod-like object with a blue jewel as well as what looked to be a candle. Four gave a frown as he rummaged around in his pack as well.

Just as his hands felt cool glass he paused at the low shuffling sound in the distance. He strained his ears, trying to catch a bit of sound again. But nothing. There wasn't anything.

_ 'So... is anyone gonna be curious about that or are we gonna stay here to save ourselves?' _ Blue asked in the shared headspace, and Four had to keep himself outwardly calm as he grasped the bottle in his bag and pulled it out, only to find it was empty. As were the other two bottles he carried.

"What should we do?" He asked, seeing Hyrule fidget in his spot as he tried to get his fire starter going over the little candle. The other looked up at him with fearful eyes as he looked around.

"I... I don't know." Those words settled in his stomach as he realized neither of them knew this area. Time wasn't with them to guide anyone.

They were alone.

Four took in a quick breath before he exhaled, and stood up. His legs shook as the world spun for a second, but he gathered up all his items to put back, ensuring his sword was in place as was his shield, and looked to Hyrule.

"Maybe we just need to go look for the others," he offered, giving a small smile to the Traveler. The brunette stood up himself, quickly grabbing his items again before they faced the door. The room itself still seemed to hold him back, as if a weight settled on his shoulders like heavy hands.

He brought his lantern up again, checking the room for anything that could have been missed. But there wasn't anything. Just a closed off room, filled with silt and rotting plant matter.

Wait... what was that? Something shifted in the shadows and Four made to swing around and catch it, but it darted away too quickly. Maybe he hit his head a bit too hard when he was dragged down and now he's seeing things. Turning away, Four moved to open the door. It was stuck fast and he grunted in effort. But it wouldn't budge. Then he pushed against it but still it wouldn't budge.

"Uh..." Four mumbled as he looked from the door to Hyrule, who blinked in confusion at him. "Got anything that gives you extra strength?" He questioned, and Hyrule frowned in thought, before he handed the candle to Four and searched his bags once again, before pulling out a band. The silver metal glinted as he placed it on his wrist, the engravings dark in the limited light, before Hyrule went to the handle of the door and he gave a good yank.

The metal gave a loud shriek as it moved, the sound of rust hindering the hinge from moving smoothly. They were greeted with cool air, though it did nothing to stave off the stench that still clung to their lungs. They stayed absolutely still, trying to see if anything had heard them in the darkness beyond their lights. His heart beat rapidly in his ears, drowning out his ability to hear anything in the darkness, and that made him anxious. With no sign of any noise, they silently agreed to move forward. With the lantern held high, he led both of them out into the depths beyond the room.

It looked like a maze, with directions going left and right before they branched off further. The whole floor had a long crevice filled with water that followed along the path, leaving them only a small space to stand on that was semi-dry. Four worried his lip as he handed the candle back to Hyrule, trying to guess which way to go.

_ 'Left. That seems the most logical,' _ Vio mumbled in his mind and the other sides gave a quiet nod in agreement. Left it is. He motioned for Hyrule to follow as they slowly moved through the stonework. There wasn't any sort of landmark as they moved, nothing to show that there was something amiss or even hidden away. Turning a corner, they found themselves in another area, though it was still bathed in darkness. There was a path forward, the way they came, and also a small area to the left to go further but the darkness still obscured the details.

Suddenly from behind them, the sound of water splashing made them turn. He raised the lantern higher again, trying to bring forth more light to see in the darkness, but there was nothing. Movement in the water sounded, as if there was something walking towards them.

"Can you see it?!" Four hissed, trying to see if Hyrule could see what he couldn't. But a glance to see the other shaking his head rapidly answered him, making dread fill his stomach. Without thinking, they bolted away from their open spot, moving out of the water in the crevice as their boots hit the stonework. Hyrule nearly slipped on some slick mud but managed to obtain his footing quickly.

Turning another corner, past some metal bars that seemed to be jail cell of sorts, Four stopped to see if they had possibly lost what had decided to follow them. No noise, no footsteps in the water. A breath quick sigh of relief from both as they stood there. They would be fine. Everything was going to be fine.

The hair on the back of Four's neck prickled and he felt a quiet terror creep into his chest.

_ 'I've got a bad feeling....' _

"Look out!" A voice shouted and Four had no chance to react as something barreled into him, forcing him against the hard wall just as Hyrule gave a yelp of surprise and jumped back. With his head pounding again, Four managed to crack open an eye to see a large skull hanging from the ceiling, then long spindly legs. A Skulltula! It gave a clack of his mandibles, as if furious to have missed it's meal, before it descended down off the string to come after him and whoever had knocked into him. Suddenly dark cloth obscured his vision as the person stood before him, a sword in his hand.

"You aren't touching him you eight-legged freak!" With a cry, the dark clad person charged forward, attempting to swing his sword at the hard carapace on the back, but it deflected off with ease. Four scrambled to get up as he clipped his lantern to his belt, and finally got a good look of who it was.

"Shadow!?" He called out in surprise before joining in. The other didn't respond as he dodged the strike to his legs, turning into a wisp of smoke briefly before he was back at it, now aiming to hack away at the legs. Hyrule did the same, taking his shield to bash into the face of the overly large Skulltula. Four unsheathed his own blade, now joining into the fray as he managed to slice off one of the legs, kicking it aside as Shadow caught one himself.

Hisses of pain and the sound of water splashing echoed through the stone walls, before finally Hyrule managed to take his sword and flip the large arachnid up onto it's back, it's remaining six legs flailing around to try and right itself. Shadow and Four had the same idea; jumping up before slamming the points of their swords into the soft underbelly of the beast. It gave a dying rattle before going limp, disintegrating into dark wisps, leaving Four and Shadow to pick themselves up.

"You know, I wasn't expecting to wind up in this place, alive, let alone saving your butt, Link," Shadow said, turning red eyes to Four. He said nothing else before reaching out and wrapping his dark look-a-like into a bone crushing hug. How was he here? Why was he here?

“Whoa!” Shadow exclaimed, stumbling back from the sudden hug as his hands hovered anxiously over Four. Four knew he was uncertain about affection, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to cry, out of relief and worry, of anger and sorrow.

"So... a friend of yours, Smithy?" Right. Hyrule was still here. Four pulled back from the hug, managing to blink away his tears, and turned to look at Hyrule, who's face in the glow of the flame revealed his nervousness. Four gave a nod as he turned to Shadow again.

"Traveler, meet Shadow. Shadow, this is my friend the Traveling Hero. It's... it's a long story," Four explained as the dark counterpart looked him over.

"That's not much of a name," Shadow commented and Hyrule frowned at the remark.

"Neither is Shadow." Four gave a groan and held his hands up to both of them, a clear signal to be quiet.

"I don't think this is the time or place to be talking about names. My biggest question, is how did you get here? I mean.... after the whole mirror incident."

"Yeah, I don't know. One minute I was well...." Shadow trailed off, the memory of how he had sacrificed himself to destroy the mirror still fresh in his mind like it was only yesterday. "The next minute, I'm in this place. So you've got me."

"I'm just glad there's someone else here to help," Four mumbled before he glanced around once more to their surroundings.

"Was that you in the water earlier?" Hyrule questioned. Shadow shook his head as he blinked, using his dark magic to float around for a second.

"I technically don't need to walk. I am a shadow after all," he remarked. Four didn't like the sound of that as they looked further on ahead. There was still something in the area with them that wasn't Shadow or each other. Four glanced over at Hyrule who gave a slight nod. They needed to watch themselves in this place.

A low sound rumbled out in the halls; like water draining beneath their feet. Looking down, Four saw the large crevice filled with water was slowly draining, as if a plug to the wash basin had been pulled. With a glance to the others, Four slowly began to head back to where they had started to come from, only seeing the large bars they had passed now had the water receding beneath it.

It was a start at least.

Hyrule dropped down first, landing in the water which made the candle go out. Shadow flit across the way through the bars to a large cliff. Four was last to drop down, wading in the water that was dropping down past his thigh to the wall before them, seeing rusted chain links leading up the wall. Four frowned as he looked to the wall and then to the lantern in his hand again, before he clipped it to his belt before climbing up.

"So, what is this place?" Shadows asked from up top, his red eyes glancing around as his inky black hair hung in his face. Four grunted as he climbed, feeling the wire dig into his fingers and palm painfully as he hefted himself up.

"I'm not sure. This is supposed to be some place called the Shadow Temple," here, Shadow gave a snort and laughed to himself. Four frowned before he finished climbing up, Hyrule joining them as well.

"Hey, I didn't pick the name. The Old Man said that this was the Shadow Temple of his era so I'm just going with it." Shadow just continued to chortle with laughter, holding his stomach as his feet kicked the air.

"They named a place after  _ me _ ! Oh this is great! I like this already!" Four just reached out and pushed the other over the edge of the small cliff, the other's squawk of surprise amusing before he was floating back up, arms crossed with his face set in a frown.

"Rude."

"So is your face. Come on." Four didn't wait to hear anything else as he moved to the metal door again. It wasn't as difficult to open as the first one had been before, but it still echoed around the whole place as one by one they stepped through.

They were met with the sight of six stone coffins, lined up three in a row on each side of the room, one of which was open and a figure standing beside it. There was a brazier in the corner, a flame so small just barely flickering as it cast a dim light in the room. The door behind them closed with a loud clang, making them jump at the sudden noise. Then, when the echo died off, there was a shuffling noise. Four watched as the figure that had been standing still now moved, a low groan calling out in a raspy voice.

They stayed perfectly still, watching as the figure didn't move towards them, just keeping to itself. Gingerly Four began to raise the lantern up, filling the room with more light. The enemy wasn't what he had been expecting to see. The dirty white bandages covering the figure was a dead give away to the fact it was a Gibdo. In the space between some of the wrappings, he could make out bone or flesh beginning to rot as it's face was turned in their direction, but the hollowed out sockets saw nothing.

"What in all of the darkness is that?" Shadow whispered, his voice wavering slightly in fear as Four looked at him. Hyrule gave a quiet whimper in the back of his throat to Four's other side.

"Do you think you can sneak behind it, Shadow?" Four questioned, and Shadow gave a noise.

"And become some weird snack? Nah, I'm good."

"Shadow!" He hissed, but the sound of a foot shuffling stopped any more noise. Four glanced around the room for a moment before he saw there were five other torches around each coffin. Perhaps that could help them see better?

He began to step to the side, away from the mummified creature as he came to one of the first stone coffins on the opposite side. Hyrule and Shadow followed as finally, Four reached up and with his lantern, he lit the bit of kindling inside it.

There was a click before they watched the stone lid slide off the coffin, dark shadows clinging under it before it finally slid off with a dull thud. Silence hung in the air, the light now helping to see them a bit better. They glanced at each other, silently asking who should look inside, before Hyrule was the first to approach, his sword and shield in hand as he peered over the edge into the coffin.

Suddenly, there was a hand that reached out to grab Hyrule by the front of his tunic, and the other frantically began to try and pull himself out of the grasp. Four and Shadow were quick to try and pull him away. They stumbled back with a loud clatter, swords dropping in their stunned surprise.

They watched as another arm came out, both now on the edges of the coffin, and it hoisted itself up. Bandages wrapped around the figure showing it was a Gibdo as well, but it's groans were louder, stronger. It's eyes were set on them as he shuffled forward towards them, one arm lifted up close to it's chest, the other extended out as the dim light cast deep shadows, obscuring details of what was beneath the wrappings.

"Liiiiink!" Shadow hissed out, frantically pulling Four up to try and get away. Four was scrambling in his mind, the parts of him at war with what they should do. Do they fight it? Set it on fire? Run? He couldn't think as it shuffled closer and closer to them. The noise it made was muffled, and it's movements were too... fluid, to be that of a reanimated corpse. Four blinked as he realized this wasn't like the others before. Hyrule made to step forward, sword ready to stab at the monster.

"Wait!" Four shouted as he took Shadow's fingers from his tunic. Hyrule stopped, but the Gibdo kept shuffling forward. Something wasn't right. They backed up a bit more, pressing up against the wall as they looked to the creature before them. Suddenly, it seems to have lost the will of its legs, collapsing in a heap on the ground, the moans of pain continuing to sound as it laid there. Cautiously, Four began to shuffle forward, his lantern lifted to try and get a better look.

The bandages were dirty, just as the other, but they were also stained with fresh blood. He could see there was pale skin underneath all of the wrappings, leading only to one conclusion.

"This isn't a monster!" Four shouted as he set the lantern down and moved to the lying figure before them. Carefully, Four reached out to the bandages that covered the face, trying to find where they were loose enough for him to begin to take it off. He felt hair as he wiggled a finger under, and in the light he saw a few blond strands peeking out.

"I could use some help!" Four turned to the others, but they didn't move. Four pulled and tugged, getting grunts of pain from beneath the wrappings. Finally, they began to unravel, revealing long blond hair that began to tumble out. Then an elongated ear, and finally he got the face revealed. Black and blue bruises covered their face, nearly making their eyes swollen shut completely. A broken nose, split lip that was tinged blue, but it was the jagged burn scars on his face and ear that revealed who it was.

"Champion!" Hyrule shouted in surprise, racing down to help unravel the other, Shadow watching behind them curiously but with an abundance of caution. A pair of teal eyes looked up at Four from their squinted position, and Four gave a gentle shush noise as he attempted to speak, the wrapping revealing a large bruise around his neck, as if something the size of his neck wrapped around it.

"It's us. It's us, Champion," Four consoled. A hand lifted, still wrapped up, and pointed behind them. Four frowned as Wild attempted to speak.

"That's Shadow. He's not gonna hurt you." Another noise, this time a bit more frantic sounded from him. What was Wild pointing at then?

It clicked in his head.

They forgot about the other Gibdo in the room.

Shit!

Suddenly, Shadow gave a shout as they turned to see that the other Gibdo had snuck up on them in their haste to save Wild. It latched onto Shadow, pulling him in with surprising strength as the bandages parted around it's mouth area.

"Get off me!" Shadow hissed, attempting to wiggle free as rotten teeth began to show, yellowed with age as it made to descend upon Shadow's shoulder.

Four jumped up and slammed into both Shadow and the creature, knocking them all off balance. It was enough for Shadow to turn into a wisp and dart out of the hold from the Gibdo, but it left Four scrambling to get out of it's reach. There was a shriek that sent his body into absolute terror, freezing him in his tracks and stopping his heart. He couldn't move as the Gibdo rose up, hands reaching out to grasp him and he couldn't do anything.

He watched those hands move to wrap around his face from the corners of his eyes, but suddenly it gave another shriek, this time of pain, as it stumbled. That gave Four the chance to get out of it's grasp. Stumbling forward, he turned to see a sword sticking through its chest cavity, coagulated blood dripping off the silver blade before it retreated and stabbed again.

Four dashed to the side to see Hyrule was struggling to pull his blade out, the hilt sticky with old blood. He wasted no time in reaching out upon the guard and they pulled together, slicing upwards with the blade as it pulled back.

With one last raspy moan, the Gibdo fell to the ground, motionless and now the spirit freed. There was a ‘tink’ noise as something fell on the stonework, but the only noises were their heavy breathing and Wild's panicked noises of pain behind them.

"Ya know..." Shadow began as he materialized from the darkness again, eyes wide in terror. "I've done and seen some things in my life. But this... this is something else! It tried to eat me!" The look of terror on his face really spoke volumes on what this place was doing to them. Four glanced to where the Gibdo had laid, the body disappearing slowly into nothingness before all that was left was a small, green jar. Four picked it up, hearing a liquid slosh around inside the container curiously.

"What is that?" Hyrule asked, taking some of the bandages that had been wrapped around Wild to clean his blade. Shadow moved over quickly to the other hero as Four looked at it.

"I'm not sure," he mumbled as he found the cork and pulled the stopper out, taking a whiff of the liquid. It smelled strange, but not unpleasant. He handed it to Hyrule who did the same. Hyrule's curious face morphed into surprise when it seemed to register.

"A green potion?" He asked, obviously stunned by the liquid, taking another sniff again. "Why was it..." he trailed off, looking to where the monster had been before he shook his head.

"Is it safe?" Four questioned, turning to look as Shadow helped lift up Wild, sitting him upright against the side of the coffin he had been trapped in. Hyrule didn't answer him as he gave a determined look and tilted it back and drank it.

Four had a moment of sheer cold terror consume him as Hyrule recklessly did this, not knowing how it would really go if the other was to go down now because of some weird mishap! But when Hyrule straightened out, he just grimaced at the taste as he set the little jar aside.

"I...I feel some of my magic is back," Hyrule mumbled and he began to grin. "I can use some of my magic now!" Quickly, Hyrule was moving over to Wild, who turned his head slowly at Hyrule's approach.

"You'll be fine now. I can heal some of your injuries, Champion." Four watched with Shadow as the other pulled forth from the magical well inside of him and began to cast Life, muttering under his breath as he worked.

Slowly, the swelling and bruising around Wild's face began to diminish, allowing him better use of his eyes and mouth. There were sounds of pain as Hyrule began to shift his hands around to find more damage under the bandages. The sounds of bones cracking and shifting made the short hero wince in sympathy, knowing that it was possible that there was much more hidden under the skin. Especially when Wild turned his head to cough to the side, spitting up old blood and wheezing harshly for air.

Hyrule worked diligently, but it would take time before Wild was even remotely able to function better for fighting. Four took this moment to glance around the room again, seeing four more coffins were set up, with four unlit torches still awaiting. Walking further ahead, Four left Shadow alone with Hyrule and Wild, walking further back to the wall. Perhaps there was something in one of these coffins? Or maybe they only brought despair.

He brought the lantern up and lit the torch closest to the back wall, not seeing the bird-like statues that loomed against said wall and over the room, eyes watching over the rows of coffins. The scraping sound of the stone lid slowly moving echoed in the room, before it slid off with a dull thud.

"What did you do!?" Shadow exclaimed, standing up to look over at him from over the coffin. Four didn't answer as he brought the lantern up, casting light around him. There wasn't anything remotely dangerous in the newly opened coffin, but a silver key awaited him. He struggled in bending over into it, his fingers barely scraping by as he tried to grasp around the little handle, but he simply was too short.

Setting the lantern down on the ground, Four hoisted himself up over the edge and stood inside the cold stone, before he bent down to pick up the key. With a cheer he marveled at the details of the key, finding how it reflected the torchlight was rather... entrancing. No wait. He didn't need to get distracted now.

He was about to hop out of the coffin when something caught his eye. Turning around, he saw something glint in the shadow of the lid, and he couldn't stop his curiosity. He stepped back inside and shuffled over, bending down to the darkness inside the coffin to find what it was. He felt around in the dark shadow before he held a large red rupee, and he frowned. This hadn't been there a second ago? Where did it come from? He was too curious about why money was suddenly appearing, he was deaf to what was around him.

"Get out of there!"

He blinked in surprise, coming back from the depths of the red color- akin to the shade of blood- to the shout that was right next to him, only to feel hands grasping at his tunic and yanking him. He gave a yelp of surprise, nearly dropping the key as he was pulled over the edge of the coffin, his foot nearly getting caught under the lid that was sliding back over the top.

With a low thud, it slid back into place, and if he had still been inside, he would have been trapped and no one would have known. He was still stunned as he turned to see Shadow there, his face set into pure anger as he rounded on him.

"By Ganon's ass, what were you thinking!? Just wandering off like that and not telling us!?" Four frowned and opened his mouth to say something (most likely Blue ready to whip up a response) but he stopped and thought it through. Shadow was right, he didn't think. He just wandered around, and it nearly cost him.

He glanced down at the key in his hand still, frowning as he handed it over to Shadow. "I... I don't know. I'm sorry, Shadow," He mumbled, frowning to himself. How could he have easily been so distracted like that? Was... was there something else happening?

He glanced up to see Hyrule standing, wiping his face with the back of his wrist before looking over at them. It seems he hadn't heard anything either. Shadow grumbled as he stuffed the key into his single pouch, muttering curses under his breath. Four just picked up the lantern again and waved it around. Maybe there were more things in the room? Should they risk looking in each one? Or would the same thing happen like the one he just escaped from?

Wild was standing now, managing to peel away the remaining bandages from his body. He was covered in blood, his once blue tunic now stained a horrid brown from the splotches of blood and the gashes that he had suffered, favoring one arm and leg, and his breathing still had a slight rattle. That was still worrisome, seeing as they had to climb to get back out.

"I don't have anything left now," Hyrule mumbled as he dusted himself off, curiously looking at the bandages that he now had gathered in his hands. Four heaved a sigh as he looked around.

"Maybe there's more of those little green jars in the room. That way Champion could actually stand a better chance." It was the only thing he could think of. Hyrule and Wild glanced to each other, sharing a look, while Four went to the coffin across the room, ignoring Shadow's protests as he went and lit the other brazier.

The lid slid off with a dull thud, and glancing inside gained him nothing but a few rupees, and the screeches of some Keese. Though it was easy to deal with the flying little creatures with a few sword swipes as they dove down after him. A few had made to come after Shadow and Wild, but they were just as easily dispatched by sword swipes and a shield bash.

One by one he went around lighting the torches to open each coffin lid, finding very little in each that would be of use. That is, until the last one opened up. It was another Gibdo, rising up to come after them with it's slow walk and it's piercing shriek. Hyrule and Wild scrambled to get away from it's grasp, Wild the most frantic after the last time he dealt with a ReDead had been in Wind's era.

With the combined effort of Shadow and Four, the monstrous creature was felled, the tiny clink of another green jar sounding in the room as it lay down and was drifting into nothingness.

"Why do they drop magic potions?" Shadow asked, clearly confused as to why some monsters were doing that. Four gave a shrug and a 'I don't know' noise. He could understand that in the grass and bushes why there were items, seeing as the Minish were the ones to leave them. But monsters? It didn't make any sense.

Hyrule was quick to pick up the green vial and downed it again, giving a shiver at the disgusting taste before he was once again holding his hands up, the green glow alight as he hovered next to Wild once more.

"Do you know where the others are, Champion?" Four questioned curiously, coming up to the other two as he watched Hyrule work, Wild's wrist the first to be patched up as he rolled the joint around, hearing little crackles from the action.

"I'm not sure. I don't... remember a lot of things. Other than pain and darkness," Wild mumbled, looking away as he leaned against the lip of the coffin, letting Hyrule work on his ankle in the process.

"Hmm... not much help there, huh?" Shadow asked, giving a nonchalant shrug as he walked by, heading to the door. Four frowned at the dark's behavior, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off a headache. Blue and Vio were arguing in his head and it was getting too difficult to really keep himself from shouting at, well, himself really.

"Shadow, really? We don't need to fight among ourselves," he commented, trying to get him to see some reason in all of this. Shadow scoffed and rolled his ruby eyes.

"Please. If he doesn't know his way around here, then why do we have to help him?"

"Because he's one of my friends. And as one of my friends, I wanna make sure they're alright. Let's just try and navigate ourselves around here. Maybe we can find a way out, or the others here." Four went to the door once more, opening it with a loud clang as he stepped through.

"Whatever," Shadow muttered right behind him, hovering in the air before he shot over to the other side, his face set in a frown as he waited impatiently for all them to cross. Green gave a frown at the other before hopping down, the other two following along. Into the water they waded, passing by a chest that hadn't been there before. Just as they were about to climb, Four stopped as he glanced back at the small chest.

He worried his lip, his mind wandering to the possibilities of what was inside. Green was practically listing off the possibilities, and he took the plunge into his curiosity. He gave the chest a swift kick around the lock, the hatch opening to reveal only a handful of rupees and some bombs. Better than nothing. With those in his pocket, he began to climb up.

He didn't notice the gaze beneath the water.

He was the last one to make it up the cliff, the others watching as he made the climb up safely, with the only light source around, and they began to move through the wet tunnels again. Even as they walked, the sound of water rushing in had them looking as the crevice began to flow, draining into the area just behind them and filling it up once more. It looks like they wouldn't be going back in that direction any time soon.

Looking around, they turned back to the right, only to stop when Hyrule held up a hand, reaching out to lift the lantern higher. His face was set in a frown before handing back the lantern to step to the wall, passing right through it. Shadow and Wild gave confused noises as they watched the scene, while Four gave a quiet 'oh' in response.

"Is it more illusions?” Four questioned just as Hyrule stepped back out, his face a tad pale but he held out a key, looking relieved to be out from what he had just witnessed. Four groaned heavily, feeling a headache coming on.

"This is Pop's place, Champion. He said something about Sheikah magic and illusions with it,” Hyrule explained. Four took a glance to see Wild's confusion before he blinked and gave a quiet 'ah' and nodded. Perhaps he's dealt with Sheikah before? Four couldn't think of a time he's dealt with these Sheikah, but he didn't have time to really think on that. They had to get moving.

"Let's get moving. I'd hate to get caught by... whatever is lurking around here.” They moved out, walking carefully on the little strip of dry stone to the large room from before, trying to see in the darkness around them. Hyrule squinted more before he pointed to the sides.

"Which way? Left or right?" Hyrule questioned and Four frowned, seeing only brick walls, before he picked to the left. Hyrule gave a nod before they both moved ahead, leading the way. They passed through the wall, which was odd to begin with, only to stumble into a very gruesome scene, Four nearly dropping the lantern in his shock.

The room they were in was very large, even seen with the dim lighting. In the middle was a pair of beams placed to look like an X-shape, with metal shackles connected to the wood. There was fresh blood dotting it and the floor, along with long tables also scattered around the room. The cages that lined the corners, where Four recognized where he had been sitting in before his vision obscured with white.

He stood there, hand shaking as he remembered the feeling of being tapped, immobile. He couldn't move, the air was stale and hot inside the thick webbing. He could feel spindly legs spinning him around, making him lose his balance and sense of direction, before the feeling of being dragged around. A jab to his arm made him jump, fumbling to hold onto the handle of the lantern, to see Shadow looking at him, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. Wild looked fairly pale too, as did Hyrule.

"This is..." Hyrule mumbled, his hand coming up to his mouth as he saw all the blood that was on the floor and on the tables, seeing in the dim light various instruments that were also coated in blood strewn around.

"This is a torture room..." Four mumbled.

"My my. I'm so glad you guys found my play room~" A feminine voice behind them in a sing-songy tone, making them whip around to face the voice, swords drawn in reflex.

She stood tall, with pale face splattered with blood, her eyes a bright blue hidden under white bangs. Her mouth was set in a grin, full of sharp teeth and spoke of ill intention, while from her head was a pair of horns curved back, a deep ebony black in contrast to her long, white hair.

"I've been wondering when my little rats would appear. I was about to go look for you, maybe ask my sister for help. But I guess here you are now!" She chirped as she pulled from her side a long dagger, twisted around in a spiral to a point. Four didn't want to admire any further as she pulled a second one.

"Now, I wonder how to catch you all. After all, playing with your food is so much fun!"

"Run!" Shadow shouted and Four panicked as she began to walk up to them, her grin growing wider as her eyes became wild looking.

" _ Where!? _ " Four exclaimed, holding his shield up as he glanced around. He didn't have a chance to ask further clarification as she made to take a mad swipe at him, and he blocked with his shield, parrying her second dagger with the guard on his sword in an attempt to keep her from getting past his defense.

She moved swiftly to the side, and he tried to follow her movements quickly, before she did feint an attack, moving to go after vulnerable Wild. Wild gave a yelp as he jumped back a few paces, trying to keep from getting hit by those weapons. He knocked into a table, and Four tried to get in to shove into her side but suddenly the floor gave out from beneath him and he was falling, falling, falling!

He couldn't see as suddenly there was a roof of stone above him as he landed with a heavy thud onto some wooden beams, before bouncing and falling down to hit the ground below. He gasped in pain, winded as he tried to figure out what just happened. Was part of the floor just an illusion? Why didn't Hyrule say anything to them!?

He glanced up to hear a shout and looked to see Shadow falling down as well, though he landed with just about much grace as he did, Four rolling out of the way before the other landed on top of him. There was a shout as suddenly Hyrule was dropping down, with Wild right behind him, the sound of something heavy falling over the stone floor above them as Wild landed in a crouch, Hyrule rolling with the motion as they all glanced up.

"You little rats! I'm gonna get you and then, then I will get to play!" She shouted down at them, the sound of something heavy being moved up top. Four glanced at the others before he scrambled to stand back up.

"Let's get out of here!" He hissed as they began to move, Shadow favoring one leg and Wild holding a bleeding arm as they moved further into the tunnels of darkness.

The tunnels twisted around, their track confusing as they tried to figure out where they were headed. Shadow limped behind the whole group, so he kept his eyes open if anything was following them, while Four held the lantern ahead, trying to see what lay before them.

He skid to a stop as they came to a large room, the light bouncing off the stone walls to illuminate the dark pool in the center of the floor, beams set in a criss-cross pattern along the pool, while there were skeletal hands reaching out from it, grasping onto the wood beams. Four glanced around, trying to guess if there was another way forward. Just ahead of them was a ladder going up, and two more paths further into the tunnels on either side. Four turned to look at the others and gave a frown in thought.

"Which way?" Hyrule asked, looking around frantically himself. Which way did they go? They would get lost if they just wandered around without some sort of plan.

' _ We should split _ ,' Vio offered in the back of his mind, his voice calm and collected as he realized there weren't many paths.

' _ Are you serious? In this dark place!? Will the lantern even split with us? _ ' Blue asked, his tone strained as he fought to keep his panic under wraps.

' _ It is pretty dark... maybe we all go in pairs? _ ' Red question, and Four bit his lip, still looking around. It was a sound solution for them. It meant several pairs of eyes instead of only four sets.

Clipping his lantern to his belt, Four drew his blade and exhaled slowly, taking a deep breath in as he pointed it upwards. He concentrated at the tip of his blade, feeling the magic well up inside him, ignoring the questions Hyrule and Wild were sending him. He felt overly warm before suddenly, one person became four.

Green blinked a few times as he glanced at his brothers, finding himself grinning at them, and then turning to the other three.

"Splitting up seems like a good plan. We can cover more ground, and maybe find more solutions."

"At least the lanterns split with us! I'd hate to wander in the dark!" Blue exclaimed, hugging his lantern tightly.

"Wait, why are you..." Wild began, looking between the four of them, confusion written on his face as he pointed at all of them. Hyrule looked the same, but Shadow came up to Vio and gave a grin, nudging him with his shoulder.

"You didn't tell any of them? Wow, keeping secrets again, huh?"

"Oh shush. It's never been brought up. Besides, it was never a good time to really split apart like this. It would have caused more confusion than it already was with 8 other Heroes." Shadow snorted as Green began to explain, however briefly, about what they could do, Red clinging close to Blue and looking up with big, brown-red eyes.

"So the name Hero of the Four sword really does fit," Hyrule mumbled, giving a chuckle as he looked around.

"Well, how do you think we should split up? There's seven of us now."

"You know I'm going with Vio here," Shadow piped up, his hands grabbing onto the purple colored with a vice grip. Vio gave a frown as he prided the other's fingers off his shoulders, but it only made the other cling to his tunic still.

"Either there's a group with three of us... or someone is going alone..." Green mumbled as he looked at them all. This wasn't well thought out, was it?

"I can go with the Traveler and Champion!" Red offered as he bounced up to the other two, his face optimistic as he looked up at them. "I'm sure we can protect each other."

"That leaves you and me, Blue," Green offered, giving a chuckle when the other frowned, crossing his arms.

"Fine. Who's going up the ladder though?" He questioned and it was silent, everyone pondering it.

"Shadow and I will. If there's anything, we can at least double back and try and find you guys." Vio offered, making the other two groups nod. Red walked over to the pool and looked down at it, the lantern held high.

"Is water supposed to look green?" he asked, and Vio shook his head.

"No. It shouldn't. That means it's something else," he commented, coming over to look as well.

"Blue and I will head down this tunnel. Shout if you're getting killed."

"Alright. You do the same!" Red exclaimed with a smile, waving them off happily.

Wild and Hyrule could only glance at the red-clad hero in confusion before the short one turned to them, and led the way over to the other tunnel further ahead.

"Let's go! I wanna get outta here quick! It's really creepy." That left only Vio and Shadow in the main room, the quiet dissonance unnerving as every sound bounced around briefly, before being silenced into nothing.

"So... how are you gonna cross?" Shadow piped up curiously, hovering above the ground as Vio pulled away from the pool of water, now looking around the cavernous room curiously.

"I'll cross over and make it up the ladder. Then we can see what's ahead of us." Vio said nothing else as he began to walk forward, one foot in front of the other as he moved across the beams. He held his lantern up ahead of him, trying to give light to the path before him in the darkness.

"I gotta hand it to whoever made this place. This gives some evil vibes. Makes ya wonder what they did down here." Shadow flitted around curiously, his eyes looking at the path ahead of Vio while silently guiding the other around.

"I'm not sure if I wanna know what they could have done down here. Or if perhaps this is all something that that woman set up."

"Nah. This has an old feel to it. This has been around for a long, long time." Shadow countered, moving over to the right side and Vio followed, before he was suddenly across the walkway, staring at the ladder going up. He turned to the smirking dark one, and gave a small smile at him.

"Thanks."

  
  
  


"So..." Red began, his voice curious as he looked back to the two taller ones. "Do you have an idea of what's here?"

"No clue," Wild commented as he pressed the piece of linen gauze to his arm, courtesy of Hyrule from his pack.

"Yeah. I don't remember this being a part of Hyrule history," the traveling hero commented, Red giving a shake of his head as well.

"Yeah. To my knowledge there wasn't anything like this in mine... well, our adventures," Red commented as they continued to walk into the darkness ahead.

"The Old Man said that this is from his place, and it was pretty well kept secret by the royal family," Hyrule mumbled as he looked around, his eyes trying to see if there was something that was amiss from the rest of the place.

"True. It's still creepy, that even in my time this place was possibly around," Red mumbled as he looked down, Wild gave a hum in agreement, obviously looking around himself.

Rounding a bend, they found their path forward blocked with large boulders, though they didn't seem to be holding the ceiling up. Hyrule gave a hum in thought, glancing over at Wild. They gave a nod as Hyrule looked through his bags again, Red looking at the blocked path.

"Now what?" He questioned, as Hyrule gave a triumphant sound. He turned to see the other hero pull out the large explosive device and give a smile.

"I knew there was a secret." Red just blinked as he watched Hyrule light the fuse and then toss it right next to him, against the boulders.

"Smithy!" Wild shouted, and Red blinked dumbly before it clicked. Right! He had to move away! He gave a yelp as he ran as quickly as he could, Wild and Hyrule both grabbing him and going around the corner again just as the bomb exploded behind them, sending sharp bits of rock into the air as the very tunnel shook.

Silence greeted them, and Red glanced up at Wild and Hyrule and gave a relieved smile.

"Thanks. That was..." He trailed off before looking back around the corner. "That was scary."

"You should pay more attention to what's happening," Hyrule chastised, his face etched in fearful worry as Red gave a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I kinda have a problem."

"Does that mean the rest of you have the problem?"

"No. Just me."

"Hylia save us..."

  
  
  


"Okay, I officially hate dark tunnels."

"So you've said before, Blue."

"I'm dead serious! How can we see in this place? Or what's even ahead of us!?" Blue hissed in fear, clinging tightly to Green's tunic as they continued to walk.

"I'm sure we can handle it."

Blue didn't let go as they continued to move through the tunnel, one lantern held high while the other clipped to Blue's belt. Their footsteps echoed the cave tunnel, swallowing them in darkness they couldn't feel around in. They rounded a bend to see it was just... a dead end. Nothing was there except some dead grass and various large stones. Blue frowned as he let go of Green, and gave a rock a kick.

"Well this was a waste of time!" He shouted, brows furrowed in frustration. Before Green could respond, the whole tunnel system shook, making dust and dirt fall from the ceiling above. The two of them looked upwards, seeing nothing was coming down on top of them, before they looked at each other.

"Red?" Green questioned, and Blue gave a nod.

"That, or the Champion." A hum in response as they glanced around again.

"I guess we'll head back." Blue grumbled at Green's statement a bit more before giving another rock a kick, watching it bounce off the wall for a moment before there was a metallic 'chink' noise. Both of them stopped and glanced at one another.

"You heard that?" "Yeah. So you did too?" They looked to where the rock had landed, seeing it landed just a few feet away to the right of where Blue was standing, and the two of them began to blindly search for the invisible chest. As they walked around the area, Green felt something brush against his leggings and he looked down, feeling with one hand cold wood and even colder metal.

"Found it!" He shouted in triumph, setting down the lantern to look for where the latch was. Blue came over and with effort, they opened the overly large lid, the magic shimmering away to reveal the massive size of the chest. It was half buried in the ground, the wood beginning to rot, but inside it was still clean. No water, no dirt. But it revealed only books. Lots of books.

"Oh man! It's nothing useful!" Blue pouted as he stepped aside to kick more pebbles. Green gave a hum as he reached for one of them and looked at it.

"Maybe it does have something for us. Vio could read it." Blue continued to grumble as Green began to shift around, plucking a plain black bound book out and flipped it open. He frowned as he began to read in the dim light of the lantern.

"This... It's a log book?" He asked, not sure if he was reading it right. Blue leaned over his shoulder, now curious. It was a list of numbers and when they had arrived, plus a general description of the person.

"Number 98. Brought in under suspicion of revealing travel routes to the enemy faction. Will commence experiment 12 on subject... Number 99. Caught attempting to flee from the field of battle. Experiment 5 as punishment for treason...." Green stopped as the realization hit him.

"Oh Hylia..." Green whispered, his fingers going lax as he found the book dropping from his hand. He scrambled, attempting to look for a different book. The plain blue cover greeted his hand and he opened it up, seeing it wasn't another log book.

_ 'We have to make sure the rest of the kingdom doesn't find this place. Our orders from the King are to be followed as if it was the law. It is the law. _

_ The bloodline of Hylia must be protected at all costs. Even if we ourselves are to fall.' _ Green frowned as he began to flip through the pages, his eyes scanning more and more words.

The sound of something shifting behind them had both Green and Blue jumping in fright, Blue raising the lantern up to try and cast light into the darkness, but nothing was there. Just the oppressive darkness that clung to their minds.

"What was that?" Green whispered, closing the book and setting it back down.

"I don't know..." They strained their ears, attempting to hear something, but the rapid beating of their pulse drowned out whatever else was there.

"Should we take the books?" Blue asked, glancing at Green quickly before looking forward again. Green bit his lip in thought, before he nodded. He began to shove the books into his magical bag, not caring how disorganized it would be later, not wanting to stay there much longer.

  
  
  


Red held the lantern up as high as he could to see further ahead, the three of them cautious as they moved. The only sound being their footsteps in the dirt beneath their feet, even as they attempted to navigate themselves in the dark.

"I wonder where this will lead to," Wild mumbled, straining his eyes to see but he couldn't catch anything moving in the dark.

"Maybe it'll lead out?" Red offered, turning himself, and the lantern, to face the other two behind him with wide, innocent eyes. Hyrule gave a shrug, moving the hand back to face the front to light the way.

"I hope no more monsters are ahead of us," Hyrule offered. The tunnel took a turn and they followed it.

They hadn't been expecting to see the ghastly face of a ReDead standing there.

Red gave a shriek of fright, the lantern dropping from his hand when rotting hands clamped onto his face. Hyrule gave a shout while Wild literally turned around and booked it down the dark tunnel. Red was scrambling to get the claws away from him, even as the stench of rotten flesh drew close to his face, Hyrule working to get fingers off of Red.

He could see the mask lifting, and he thrashed to get himself out of the grasp, before suddenly he was released, a pained moan sounding from the creature. Hyrule pulled him back, out of the grasp of the ReDead. They watched as it stumbled further backwards into the darkness. Just as Red managed to scramble and grab his lantern, there was the sound of more shuffles. They looked up, Red feeling his heart stop, as they saw in the dim light the figures of more ReDeads walking forward.

"Let's get out of here!!!" Hyrule shouted and Red wasted no time in saying anything, both of them running as fast as they could to follow Wild back the way they had come, fear making them frantic to try and get out of the darkness.

They stumbled upon Wild, who was huddled against the wall, his eyes wide as he turned to look at them in absolute terror. Hyrule wasted no time in grabbing the other by the front of his bloodied tunic and they continued to run, the air burning in their lungs as they moved, the darkness still encompassing them like a thick woolen blanket. They came to a stop after a few more moments of running, standing there panting for air as they tried to calm their racing hearts.

"Should... should we get the others?" Red questioned as he looked to the taller two. They didn't answer, Hyrule doubled over with his hands on his knees, while Wild had all but collapsed on the ground, staring up at the ceiling.

"Maybe? Or... or we could just... just not go back there," Hyrule finally managed out. Wild gave a thumbs up, still panting, and Red nodded. They looked forward, trying to see if they were close to the main room from before, only to find nothing as a hint.

  
  


Vio stared at the locked door ahead of him before looking to Shadow and held out a hand.

"I could really use that key right now." Shadow tossed him the key easily, just on the outskirts of the lantern light. With a twist, the heavy lock fell away, letting the door open. With a twist of the rusted doorknob, the door opened with a high pitched squeal, revealing the room ahead.

It was like the same room they had awoken up into, stone work all around, only there was a few broken clay pots, and a skeleton leaning up against the wall, and no way out.

"This just... leads to a dead end?" Shadow whispered as he looked around. Vio tried to cast his lantern around, attempting to see if there was something of an illusion around, but nothing. Nothing revealing to be off in the walls.

"Now what!? I doubt there's any way out of this direction! And how would the others have gotten here as well?" Shadow floated to the wall that was opposite the skeleton, and Vio gave a shrug, not sure what to answer him.

"I found you~" A voice whispered behind Shadow, both of them freezing in shock.

Shadow gave a shout of pain as a hand reached through the wall, grabbing him by the back of his head, and he was pulled through the wall. Vio raced over, passing through the invisible wall to see the sight of Shadow being held up like that, with the grinning visage of the woman from before looming down at him.

"I see you split up, trying to cover more ground. Smart, but also so very very stupid of you," she crooned, backing up with a laugh with a dark portal just behind her. Vio gave a shout as he made to slice at her, attempting to go for her legs and to miss hitting Shadow entirely.

"Pathetic! So weak without your brothers here to help. It's too bad I gotta do this though, little darkling. You would have been fun to have around to play with." She gave a grin as she pulled her dagger out and placed the tip of into Shadow's side, right in the slit of his tunic and chainmail. Vio froze, unable to do anything as he watched this.

"I hope you find your healing friend soon. I'd hate to see how a darkling like this manages to survive my poisons," she offered and before Shadow could even lash out with a kick, she stabbed into his side, ripping a scream of agony from him as the twisted blade dove into his flesh, and then pulled back out.

The sound echoed along the brick work, and Vio couldn't stand to hear it! Couldn't stand to see Shadow being hurt! With an angry shout, he raced forward, blocking the attempted stab at him with his shield, making to block her in and prevent her escaping through the dark portal that was just off in the distance. She gave a 'tsk' of frustration, having only one hand to really block his blows with, before she carelessly flung the other aside, her hand now free to grab the second dagger. That was fine with Vio. He wailed upon her, strike after strike, darting past her and attempting to catch her off guard in any way.

"You annoying pest! I should have let the damn spider eat you! Not hang you up and hope you wiggle free to your death!" Vio didn't pay any attention to her words; didn't even let them register in his mind. All he could focus on was attempting to trip her up in any way. They danced around in the water, and Vio finally saw an opening and he took it.

He stabbed his sword forward, making her jump back and bring her daggers up to defend, and he did it again, only to get her backed against the wall. It was his chance! He plunged the blade into her thigh, pinning her in place, but it only got him a shout of pain and then a backhand across his face. He stumbled, trying to get up as the stinging sensation burned across his cheek, but he watched as she pulled his blade from her thigh, tossing it well out of his reach, as she snarled at him, walking forward to where he lay.

"Ya know... I was gonna play with you. But I think it'd be more fun to watch you-" she was cut off with a shout of pain when another sword stabbed her in the back. She turned to look back, and Vio saw Shadow there, panting heavily as he used one hand to hold the sword, the other to hold the wound on his side.

"You aren't touching him, you crazy bitch," Shadow mumbled, his eyes glowing with anger in the darkness. She didn't respond to him, before she disappeared into the darkness around them, leaving only the heavy burden upon them.

" _ Fine. I'll leave you be. Good luck finding that sea rat of yours. He should be in Dead Hand's clutches now! Maybe dead, since you're all so slow! _ " she shouted in the darkness, but that left only Vio and Shadow alone.

Vio stumbled over to where Shadow was, watching as he collapsed to his knees and hissed in pain, barely upright with the help of his sword.

"Let me see..." Vio slurred, his vision blurring slightly as he tried to pull the tunic aside to see the wound. It was a horrid thing to look at, and he worried how deeply the dagger had gone in. Blood continued to pour from the wound, and all Vio could do was rip a part of his sleeve off to try and stem some of the flow, his attempt at saving him.

"I... I don't feel..." Shadow mumbled, and Vio had to hold him up as Shadow began to tilt to the side.

"Stay with me! Shadow don't you dare!" Vio shook him, attempting to get him to stay awake. He couldn't lose him! Not now! He didn't want to be alone and find the others.

He didn't want to be alone.

His vision swam as he felt nauseous, the burning sensation in his cheek gone but now his whole world felt so... off. He could barely hold himself up, let alone Shadow.

The room swam and soon, he and Shadow laid together on the cold stone floor. The only thing he could hear was his rapid heartbeat, and the sound of water draining in the distance.

Is this really how it all ends?

  
  
  


Green and Blue continued to walk back to the main room, not wanting to be stuck in the dead end much longer than they were. All the while they were tense, straining their ears as they listened for anything out of the ordinary, but nothing was there. The only thing they had to go on was just the oppressive darkness that dug it's ways into their bodies.

They made it out into the overly large room that they had split up at, seeing Hyrule, Red, and Wild were there and attempting to calm themselves down from something.

"What happened?" Green asked, getting their attention as they jumped in fright.

"ReDead tried to bite me," Red explained, his face calm despite his breathing rate so rapid. Blue gave a groan of exasperation while Green just sighed.

"Thank you again for saving me, Traveler! I'll be honest, his breath was really really bad." Hyrule just gave a thumbs up.

"Where's Vio and Shadow?" Green questioned, wondering where the other quarter of himself was at. The other's all gave a shrug, trying to see what could have happened.

"He went up that ladder, right?" Wild asked, and they turned to see the rickety ladder that lead up to a small alcove, but to cross it was the pool of the sickly green water.

"Well... maybe they found a way out?" Blue offered. No one answered him in response, so Green began to step forward. He found a beam, the dust cleared away by footsteps before, and he carefully began to cross.

"Let's go find him. I'm sure we can all regroup and talk about what we've found so far."

"All we got are a whole bunch of stupid books!" Blue grumbled as Wild was the next one, followed by Red, and he and Hyrule took the last two spots.

Moving was slow, everyone attempting to keep balance on the beams. Though Green kept getting distracted by a shining gem off to the side. He paused, looking between the path of disturbed dust, and to the silver glint off the other direction.

His eagerness for money really was a weakness....

Green walked off the path, heading for the shining gem that was just at the end of one beam, ignoring the hissed words from the others as he held it. He grinned to himself, unable to stop as he beheld how it glittered. He could see his eye in the reflection with the light of his lantern.

"Green!" Blue shouted and he turned, giving a laugh.

"Look! A free rupee!" He cheered with a fist pump. He turned around, walking past the skeletal hands that had been clinging to the wood by stepping over their fingers.

"Please don't do that!" Red admonished, shaking a finger at his counterpart in frustration. Green gave a nervous chuckle, scratching his cheek with the gem.

"Sorry. I just saw it an- whoa!" he yelped as he lost grip on it, attempting to try and catch it before it plopped into the water. His flailing hands met only air as the jewel landed in the water with a 'plop.' The sound of something hissing drew their attention down, seeing the water bubble and foam from where the silver rupee fell into. Everyone was dead silent, unable to comprehend just what was in the water that could do that.

Then the realization of why there were skeletal hands coming out and holding onto the beams. Green swallowed thickly before he was back to leading the way, his face set in fear as he realized just what they were standing over.

“Um... Let's just get moving.” With no other incident, they made it all over to the side of the room with the ladder, one by one climbing up, hearts pounding in their chest as they frantically tried to calm down.

"I absolutely hate that you are such a greedy fucker!" Blue hissed from the back, and Green had the decency to flinch and look ashamed. The second ladder up was next, followed by a door with the lock on the ground, key twisted in it to show that they had gone in this direction. Wild was the first to open the door, seeing the small room with only a skeleton in the corner and the broken pots.

"So, a dead end?" Red asked, Hyrule still back in the other room, shield and sword ready.

"Maybe? But where are Vio and Shadow?" Green questioned out loud.

Wild glanced around the room for a moment, going over to look through the broken debris of the pots curiously for anything of use. Hyrule stuck his head in and frowned.

"That wall's an illusion," he explained as everyone turned to see where he was pointing at with his sword, seeing the wall before them. But, Hyrule hasn't been wrong before.

"Hey Traveler. Think you could use this?" Wild asked, and they saw he had picked from the debris a small green vial once more. Hyrule was quick to grab it and he uncorked the little jar, before downing it in a heartbeat.

"Be careful how much you’re taking! You don't need to get addicted to that stuff!" Blue exclaimed as Hyrule grimaced at the taste.

"I don't think I could get addicted to this stuff. It tastes absolutely foul," he grumbled, sticking it in his pouch for later storage uses, bouncing a bit on his heels.

"Let's get through here. Maybe we can catch up with the other two." Green found the space in the wall that was fake, passing through with his lantern held as high as he could make it. One by one they all stepped forward, finding they were back to a familiar room, only the water was gone from the crevice, and the large hole further down.

Just at the edge, right against the wall they had first passed through that led them to the tunnels, they saw the forms of Vio and Shadow laying on the ground, the dim lantern light showing a dark pool underneath both of them.

"Shadow! Vio!" Red shouted, racing forward to see them, Blue and Green following close behind. The three came up to their counterparts, Blue lifting Shadow up only for his hand to come back stained bright red. Vio had a cut on his cheek that was stopping it's oozing of blood, but neither of them responded to sounds.

"What's wrong with them?" Red asked, his voice squeaking in his panic. Hyrule was quickly trying to assess what wounds were there, grimacing at the one that Shadow had. It would need to be sewn up in some way to stop the bleeding.

"I think it's a good thing we found that magic potion," Hyrule mumbled as he inhaled and exhaled, pulling from his well of magic once more to hover over Shadow. He seemed to have the worst injuries.

"No... no don't..." Shadow whispered, his eyes blearily looking up at them, unfocused and glazed over.

"Shh.. it's okay. You're safe!" Red tried to console, getting close to Shadow's face. Shadow gave a whimper and tried to reach up and push Red away but his arms fell weakly to his side, his head lolling around.

"Let... let go..." Vio managed to growl out, lifting his head as he attempted to find something, anything. Green and Blue looked at each other in confusion before suddenly Vio was grabbing Blue's sword, pulling it from it's sheath to try and take a stab at Hyrule, Wild pulling him back out of harm's reach.

"What's going on?" Red wailed, looking ready to cry as Vio stood up with shaky legs, panting heavily as he looked at the group. His eyes were crazed, his breathing laborious as he stood over Shadow.

"You... you won't hurt Shadow! Not again!" He wobbled where he stood, and Green stepped up in front.

"Vi. It's me! It's all of us!" Vio didn't respond, blinking rapidly as he held firm.

"He's injured Vio! We have to try and save him!"

"You... you won't hurt him again! I won't let you!"

"Can he not see us?" Blue asked, everyone watching as Vio began to take steps forward, one after the other in an attempt to get over to them.

"I... I don't know," Green mumbled. Wild managed to dart forward, dodging to the side from a sluggish vertical swing from Vio's arm, but it seemed he wasn't prepared for the quick horizontal strike that he made, ignoring the tear in his tunic to wrestle the sword out of the other's hand. Hyrule dashed over to be at Shadow's side, Red coming over to help. That left Green and Blue to work with Vio.

"Come on! Snap out of it! It's us! Your brothers Vi!" Green shouted as he managed to grab his wrists and pin them behind the other's back for their own safety.

"No! You won't hurt him or me! I won't let you!" Vio struggled to get out of their grasp, Blue grabbing his sword quickly before it could be used again.

Red watched as Hyrule was busy trying to use his magic, holding up the lantern light to allow him to see better. Shadow groaned, his head to the side, before the sound of him retching filled the air, and the acidic smell of bile made Red flinch. Shadow laid there, trembling slightly even as Hyrule worked.

"He has some of the same symptoms as Veteran did earlier," Hyrule mumbled as he concentrated, making Red wince in sympathy. He looked at the nasty stab wound, seeing how it was starting to heal and the blood was flowing less, but Red just knew that he wouldn't be without a scar from this.

"Do you think you can fix him?" Red asked, and Hyrule didn't answer.

"I'll try... the worst wound is the open one, but... I have to take in the fact he's now weakened from blood loss and the poison." Red looked up to watch as Vio was held in Green's arms, the purple colored hero hunched over like he was just punched in the gut, his legs wobbling and only held up with the help of Wild and Green.

"Vio might have been poisoned too..." Red whispered, his anxiety rising at the idea of losing any of them. Hyrule grit his teeth, the magic still flowing around his hands, before he shook his head and began to focus more.

"I'll at least try to stop the poison. You gotta help me sew it up though." Red blinked in surprise, pointing to himself.

"I have to see about doing the same for your brother too." Oh. That makes sense. Red went to search in Hyrule's bags, fingers finding the oil skin roll that he used to hold most of his items, and found the thread and needle they used, plus a pair of tweezers. It was all they would have for now. Hyrule stopped the flow of magic, kneeling there and panting heavily as he rested. Shadow looked a little less pale, and his breathing was better, but it was still bad.

Green gave a shout of pain as Vio thrust his head back, cracking his skull onto the other's nose. Green let go in the shock of pain, his hand moving up to the injury out of reflex, and Vio scrambled away, moving to the wall where he stood at, panting heavily as he looked at all of them, but he wasn't seeing anything.

Green was cursing up a storm as he held his nose, stumbling away as he tried to see through tears. Blue made to grapple onto the other, Wild coming over as well, to try and get a hold of him again,

"Why are you like this, Vi!? I thought you were the smart one!" Blue grunted out, scrambling around to grab ahold of the other.

"Get off me, you monster!" Vio shouted, thrashing and kicking in his attempt to escape with wild eyes. A swift kick to the stomach had Wild double over in pain, leaving Blue to still try and hold the other back.

"Okay, I'm gonna try something... but Traveler is gonna hate me," Wild muttered, stepping back and away from the quarrel. Blue gave a squawk of surprise, being shoved away from Vio in the scramble. As he landed on the wet stone, he suddenly had his brother atop of him, hands wrapped around his neck as he squeezed. Blue grunted, trying to claw the hands off his neck as Vio stared down at him, eyes unfocused, face drenched in sweat. His lungs burned, his throat was being crushed. He couldn't breathe! His own brother was trying to kill him!

"Let..." he tried to get out, but he was watching as Vio looked so determined to end his life. He could see the edges of his vision beginning to turn black. Suddenly, just before everything went completely dark, the sound of wood cracking against a skull sounded as Vio's hands lost grip, and he fell to the side. Blue gasped for air, panting heavily as he looked at the dazed form of Vio, to Wild who stood over them with a large plank of wood in his hands.

"Uh... got any rope?" Wild asked, and Blue just flopped back onto the cold stone floor and fought for air. This really was becoming a nightmare!

By the time Vio was tied up with some spare rope from Hyrule's bag, Red had finished stitching close the wound on Shadow's side. They were clumsily made but firm, allowing the wound to begin healing. Hyrule drifted over to check on Vio, seeing only the slight concussion he had from the solid whack to the head, and he allowed himself the chance to channel his magic into Vio.

"He doesn't have as high of a dose as your friend Shadow does," Hyrule stated, allowing his hands to drop as he worried his lip, glancing over at Green who held his hand over his nose, blood dripping down from under his hand.

"I could purge him of the poison completely, but I don't have anything left in me."

"If I could find my slate, I'm sure I could figure out what I have for my stuff," Wild stated, crossing his arms with a frown. Hyrule just heaved a sigh as he looked to the sprawled form of Shadow, attempting to think of which to work on.

"Is... Shadow gonna be okay?" Red asked, taking the water skin that had been in his bag to try and flush the stitches once more before working to wrap them up. Hyrule frowned as he looked back.

"I did what I could. He's gonna be sore and probably out of commission for a while," he paused to glance at the other colors of Four, seeing Blue was rubbing his neck and the beginnings of fingerprint bruises forming on the skin.

"I did manage to flush a majority of the poison from him, but he is still gonna be woozy. But for uh... Vio," Hyrule paused to the last one, who was thankfully asleep. "I have only a little bit more magic in me before I'm out again. So I could heal him from the remaining poison." Green frowned as he glanced at Blue and Red. He could handle a broken nose. It'd be difficult, sure, but it was set right now. Blue looked to be fine, and Red was the same.

"You did what you could for Shadow... But I think helping Vio and getting rid of the poison will put us... me, at a better advantage." Green saw the looks he got and he stood firm in his decision.

Hyrule nodded before he turned to Vio and concentrated. They watched the green glow of Hyrule's magic flow from his hand, as he closed his eyes to pass over Vio's form. It was silent save for Hyrule's whispers in the darkness, Blue and Red standing now to keep an eye from the darkness around them.

Vio's color began to come back, his breathing a bit easier, but he was still out cold in the rope bindings. Probably a good thing. The bruising from where Wild had smacked him was beginning to fade as well. Hyrule finally pulled away, panting as he sat there.

"I've got nothing left. Not without tapping into my own life energy and that, is a bad decision," Hyrule mumbled, leaning back on his hands as he fought to catch his breath. Green gave a nod, removing his hand from his nose- knowing it was absolutely horrid to see, and he came up to Vio's prone form.

"Vi?" He questioned, reaching out to gently shake him. Vio gave a groan, blinking his eyes open as he looked up, his face pinched in confusion.

"Wha..." He managed out, blinking a few times as he began to focus. "What happened to you, Green?" He asked, attempting to move his arms but he found they were bound, and he frowned in confusion.

"Yer head connehcted to mah nose," Green explained thickly, getting a confused noise from the other as he attempted to dislodge the rope.

"You were poisoned, and I think it was making you see us as monsters or something,” Blue explained, making Vio groan as he hung his head, his whole body radiating shame.

"What about Shadow?" Vio asked, lifting his head quickly to try and look around. Green put a steadying hand on his shoulder and nodded.

"He's gonna beh fan. Restin’ now." Vio nodded with a thick swallow, his throat dry. Green glanced over to Wild before giving a nod. Wild sighed heavily before coming over and began to undo the knots in the rope.

"We’re gonna hafta reform. Heal fastah and not ged lost." Vio gave a hum of agreement, flexing his fingers once he was free of the rope.

"Where's my sword?" Vio asked, looking around the darkness to try and find it. Blue gave a grunt as he went to search for it, Red putting Shadow's blade in it's sheath for easier transport, having dressed him back in his tunic and chainmail.

"Found it," Blue called out as Vio was standing, Green taking a moment to do the same. Red came over with a small smile, looking at all of them.

"Well, I guess back we go, huh?" Red questioned, the other's giving a nod, even when Vio hissed and held his head.

"Let’s try not tah gib a headache, kay?" Green offered with a laugh, though it was obvious that it was strained with the bruising around his nose and eyes getting worse. They raised their swords up, the tips pointing at the center of their circle, before they closed their eyes.

There was a bright flash, temporarily blinding Wild and Hyrule for a moment before finally, they blinked away the spots, to see Four standing there. He lowered his blade, and glanced at the others. His face was still awash with the splattering of color from his broken nose, though it seemed to be a bit more healed than it had on Green, but his eyes were still slightly bloodshot, wheat-colored hair a complete mess, as he gave them a weak smile.

"Well, where to now?" He asked in a clearer voice, sheathing his blade. They glanced around the large room again and turned to Hyrule, who found his candle once more and lit it, allowing there to be another source of light in the darkness.

"I wonder what's down there?" Hyrule questioned. They followed where he was pointing, seeing the large opening in the floor where the crevices from the rest of the room flowed into. Four walked over to the edge and glanced down with his lantern, staring down at the bottom.

"I see a chest and... a crawlspace," he began, squinting as the darkness obscured his vision.

"It's not very big though. Maybe a child could fit though."

"....I know I won't fit," Wild muttered with a frown, crossing his arms with a wince.

Hyrule came over finally, his candle held high to try and add light and aid in their vision. "I could fit through there... but I might also get stuck," he relented. Wild and Hyrule looked to Four, who gave a frown. It was silent between them all for a moment or two, before the short hero dropped down into the hole. He bypassed the chest to kneel before the crawlspace, looking inside it for a moment and then he looked up.

"Do you really think you can squeeze through here, Traveler?" Four questioned. Hyrule glanced back at Shadow and then turned to Four, giving a careful nod.

"If you hear me screaming, anything that would indicate I'm in serious trouble, please try and get to me. Otherwise... I'll be back in an hour at most." Four turned the knob on his lantern and suddenly the whole area became dark, leaving only the meager light of Hyrule's candle to cast a small glow. Four got down onto his hands and knees, feeling where the opening space was, and crawled, leaving behind Wild and Hyrule to watch over Shadow.

He wiggled and squirmed in the enclosed space, feeling it all around him in the pitch dark that surrounded his vision. He grit his teeth, closing his eyes as he focused on moving forward. He crawled what felt like an eternity, before the pressure of the ceiling gave away, and he found he was now able to stand.

He wobbled there for a moment, trying to catch his breath, before he pulled out the lantern and lit it. He stared up at the large cliff ahead of him, lined with the same chain link wire that a previous room had, and the large Skulltula that was staring down at him from the ceiling. Four swallowed thickly, trying to calm his racing heart as he moved to the side, but he saw the various eyes watch him, and he realized that he was gonna have to get rid of the ominous monster before he proceeded, unless he became a snack for the creature.

Four unsheathed his blade and shield- having clipped the lantern to his belt once more- and braced himself with a frown. He walked forward, the two meeting eye to eye. Suddenly, when he was just a short distance away, it dropped down from the thread of it's spinneret, landing on its legs to give a hiss and clack of it's mandibles.

He Held firm in his stance, dodging to the side of the room to avoid the strike at him with large fangs that dripped with something that he had no time to think about. Another dodge to the side, rolling with the motion, before he was by its spindly legs. A shout and swipe, and he managed to take his blade and cut off two legs at once. It hissed and made to try and lash at him, but Four kept dodging out of it's range, not staying still to avoid becoming an easier target. He circled it for a moment, and dodged to the left when it tried to strike him.

Only to hit a wall.

He had a brief second to realize that he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings, before he faced forward and held up his shield, blocking it's fangs from trying to sink into his flesh. He chanced it to open his eyes, seeing the large spider had its fangs caught over the rim of his shield, trying to wiggle itself off, while trying to take the shield with it.

Four grunted as he held on, and with a shout he stabbed his blade forward, right up to its eyes. He grunted in disgust as the sickly colored blood that began to dribble down his blade, onto his shield and hand. It screeched, thrashing in pain as it finally lurched to the side, and Four pulled his sword back to wretch himself away from the creature.

It writhed there on the ground, before managing to turn the remaining 5 eyes back at him. He could sense the creature was glaring at him something fierce, but Four stood firm. With a sound of rage it charged at him. It was a pattern of blocking it’s strikes and dodging away from it’s lunged, until the short Hero was backed against another wall, and he could only watch as the large spider jumped up at him, attempting to pounce.

Four had no chance to lose. He took a few steps forward and thrust his blade upward. It felt like the world slowed down for a moment, and he watched as the tip of his blade pierced into the soft underside of the arachnid, green-black blood spraying from the sudden wound as the sound of a pained screech echoed in his ears. Suddenly he had the full weight of the creature atop of him, pinning him in place.

He grunted, trying to get himself out from under it as it thrashed around in pain, before he shoved the blade just a bit further up into its head, giving the blade a twist. With one last rattle, it collapsed atop of Four, making the air rush out of his lungs, before it disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, leaving him there, on the ground, covered in the creature's blood and very much winded.

Standing up, he grunted with effort to shake off the blood coating his hands and placed the sword back into its sheath, shield following to be placed on his back. He took a chance to look up to his goal, seeing the metal door atop of the wall to climb. Walking over, he gave a huff as he began to ascend the wall, the blood on his hands making it a bit difficult to have a solid grip, but he managed to get to the top without falling or hurting himself.

The sound of water flowing caught his attention, and he turned back to begin seeing the water starting to flow in, coming up to a distinct line on the walls below slowly but surely. He would be stuck in here for some time. Great. He took the chance to reach down into the water, using some of it to try and wash away the blood covering his face and hands, getting a chunk out of his hair before slicking it back. With a deep breath in, Four exhaled as he turned to the door once again, and found the doorknob. With a twist, he got it open with minimal effort, and found himself in another dark room.

The first thing that greeted him was the stench. It was much worse than the first room he woke up in, with the sight of bones and other body parts sticking out of the dirt. Especially the long white hands, flesh stripped away from the fingers to expose bloody bones sharped into claws. Very very familiar looking hands.

What the hell are they connected to?

Four took a glance around the room, not seeing anything else was amiss or out of place in the cramped space. He frowned heavily as he tried to think of how he wanted to proceed. It was obvious the hands were attached to something, but what was it? Where was it even at? Cautiously he moved, circling the room, pointedly ignoring the various things sticking out, as he tried to find an angle to these things. But he found there wasn't anything. He stumbled briefly in a really loamy patch of dirt, but continued on for a moment. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, and he swallowed before he approached one of the hands.

Before he got too close to even hit it with his blade, it twisted itself around and latched onto his face, the bones digging into his head so quickly that it drew a hiss of surprise and pain. He tried to get it off, ignoring the cold slimy feeling that coated his hands when he tried to dislodge the thing. Just behind him, he heard the sound of dirt and debris shifting; a low and hauntinger laughter echoing in the room as the sound of shuffling drew closer and closer. He tried to turn his head and see what it was that was coming at him, but he couldn’t see, so he fought harder to get out of the grip on his head.

He gave a shout as he finally got the hand off of him, stumbling back with a grunt, before he whipped around, and screamed in absolute terror. He watched as the bloated white creature shuffled towards him with it's pasty white skin splotched with blood, bits of flesh sloughing off, while's it's head was held high on a thin neck. It was absolutely grotesque and horrible to look at.

He took a stab at it with a shout, but all his sword strike did was bounce off the flabby skin. The creature's large head descended down, hollow black eyes staring right through him as the mouth opened with sharp teeth stained red with blood made to latch onto him. He gave a grunt as he rolled out of the way, and the creature lifted it's head up once more.

That's it! That's how he had to kill it!

He watched it shuffle away, and Four sprinted back to the creature. It turned with a growl, and Four stood there, waiting for his moment to strike. It began to lower it's head once more, and just as it lunged at him, mouth open wide like an over eager Rope with a Minish in its sights, Four gave a shout as he swung his sword, slicing into the stretched flesh on its face.

It gave a grunt of pain, rearing back in a startled state, and Four took another chance to swipe at it, green blood dripping as it stumbled back. It lifted it's head back up, shuffling away from him before it burrowed into the dirt. Four frowned, his heart racing but he watched the hands rise back up. Luckily, he wasn't close to one. He went to the area that he had seen the creature burrow down into, the dirt covering the hole once more, and frowned in frustration. The ground felt just as it was before, and now he had to try and find where it was at! He didn't want to have hands latch onto him again. That would leave him wide open for yet another attack. But, he couldn't see where it was possibly at.

_ 'We might have to,' _ Vio commented in his head, and Four gave a groan. Really? Why was that even a thought to have? But he didn't see any other choices for him. Looking to the closest group of hands, he positioned himself in front of one and stepped into its radius. As predicted, it latched onto his face, holding him down. Just to his left, where he hadn't searched the soil, the creature rose up from the dirt and began to shuffle at him again.

He struggled more and more, frantically trying to get out of its grasp. When it finally lost its hold on him, Four instantly darted away, just a hair's breadth from having teeth snap into his head. He pivoted around, blade drawn, and watched it move. He allowed it to come forward, bracing himself as he concentrated on his blade arm. Once more it lowered its head, mouth open wide to try and bite him, and Four speared his blade forward, shoving it up into its mouth before angling up into its skull. It gave a pained screech, teeth stuck between the guard and blade. Four held his ground, grunting as he finally yanked it out, only to quickly stab again and again at its face.

With a low groan, the creature gave a dying breath, head raised high, before collapsing to the ground in a heap. The pale arms that had been in the middle of the room dissipated as well. He stood there, panting as he watched the creature begin to disappear, a green jar having rolled off to the side. He heard the sound of dirt shifting and he turned around, seeing a large chest raising up from the ground. Just as he was about to go over and open the chest, he heard a sound of pain. He turned back around, seeing where the creature had been at, only to gasp in shock.

"Sailor!" He called out in surprise, racing back over to the prone teen. He could see he was covered in various bruises, his once blue shirt now stained brown with blood in the shoulder area. His face was pale, lips tinged blue, and he looked to be struggling for air. Four immediately was pressing his fingers to his neck, feeling a weak pulse in him, but he was still there. For now.

"Come on, kid! Wake up!" He frantically shook the other, trying to get him to at least open his eyes. Wind groaned, and he saw those bright sea green eyes flutter open, but he was surprised how bloodshot they were, and then Wind gurgled something, foam coming out of his mouth as he tried to speak.

"It's okay, don't speak," Four offered, reaching out to push his hair from his face. Wind gave a panicked noise as he tried to scramble away, coughing frantically as he got out of Four's arms, and the sound of him retching up fluid made Four start to panic. How injured was he!?

"It's okay! There's nothing else here, Sailor!" Four tried, reaching out with his hands to the other. Wind turned to try and bat him away, but itwas weak and only made Four wince at the slight pain in his shoulder, but he reached his hands out and held onto his face, making Wind look at him.

"It's me. It's me," he whispered, finally having his attention. Those eyes watched him, searching even through his panic, before they welled up with tears. Four could only blink in surprise as the teen pulled himself weakly into Four's lap and began to cry. His heart began to break, and he pulled the youngest up into his arms, squeezing tightly as the other cried, coughing up some fluid as he fought for breath.

"You're safe. It's... it's over." He took this chance to try and see what wounds Wind really did have. He lifted the back of his shirt, wincing at the large teeth marks that littered his body, as well as the worse one on his shoulder. He could barely see the bruising around his neck, but he wasn't certain what shape it was with the angle he was at. He finally pulled Wind back to look at him, wincing at the mess but he wiped at his face with the tail end of his hood, trying to wipe some of the grime away.

"We need to get out of here. I found Traveler and Champion, so we stand a better chance of surviving." Wind nodded, shivering as Four left him to sit for a moment. He swiped the large green jar and instantly put it away, before he curiously moved to the chest. He grunted with effort to lift the lid, and looked inside with the lantern.

He pulled out a familiar object; the handle a rowan wood, with a long chain mechanism built inside and a trigger for one to put their thumb, a large pointed piece to latch onto objects and pull you or the object forward. It was Legend's Hookshot! He turned to Wind and gave a smile, pocketing the tool before he moved to help the other stand.

"Let's hope the water drained again and we can crawl through the opening once more." Wind just gave a nod, quiet and subdued, as Four glanced around the room. He saw one pot in the corner, half buried in the dirt, before he went over to reach inside. It was just another bottle of green potion, which Four immediately put away, and then helped Wind walk out of the room. Looking, he saw the water level was once again dropping, draining from somewhere that the two of them couldn't see, and Four turned to Wind.

He still hadn't said a word, and now that he could see better, it looked like the bruising was worse around Wind's neck. He winced, worried that maybe there was something else wrong, before he looked down and then back up. Nothing on the ceiling and nothing on the ground to attack them. Four climbed down carefully, glancing up when he was a ways away to see Wind gingerly doing the same. When they came to the crawlspace again, knees damp from the water still clinging to the stone, Four looked to the youngest hero once more.

"We gotta crawl through here to the others. But it's pretty dark." Wind swallowed with a wince, and nodded. Four frowned at him and looked to his lantern.

"Do you want me to go first?" He asked, and Wind shuffled for a moment, fidgeting with the end of his tunic before shaking his head. Four nodded, as he stepped back, letting him go forward. When the other's shoes were out of sight, Four gave a few words of encouragement, and then doused the flame once more.

Crawling forward in the dark was always nerve-wracking, and he could only imagine what Wind went through before he found them. He grit his teeth, trying to ignore the suffocating darkness that enclosed around him like the walls of the crawlspace. He could hear Wind coughing and whimpering up ahead of him, and he had to breathe himself.

"Just a bit further, Sailor. Then we can see if the Traveler will help you." He got a little noise before more shuffling. Finally, Wind gave a yelp as he was finally through the tunnel, Four not far behind. He breathed a sigh of relief once more.

He took the chance once out of the tunnel to turn the lantern on once again, allowing light to bathe them once again. Wind sat on the ground, struggling to catch his breath as he sat there. Four came over, rubbing his back gently, glancing up at the top of the hole but he didn't see any light above. Worrying his lip, ignoring the sting of it splitting with his teeth, he stood up and began to climb the same wire that had been to the side, Wind managing to do the same.

It was quiet between them save for their heavy breathing, and just as he reached the top, he felt hands suddenly grabbing the back of his tunic, and pulling up. He yelped in surprise, trying to reach up and dislodge the hands but they held firm, and when he was pulled up completely he looked to see Wild was there, his eyes relieved to see them. Hyrule was on the other side, reaching with his hand down for Wind.

The other teen stayed frozen, just out of Hyrule's reach, and Four glanced back over, holding his own hand down. Wind glanced back and forth before he finally grabbed Four's hand and then Hyrule's with his other, both of them hauling him up from the hole.

"By Hylia I'm glad to see you guys," Four offered, looking to try and see where Shadow was.

"So are we. You were gone for some time and... we thought," Hyrule began before shaking his head, turning to Wind and reaching out to him, pulling Wind over to check him over.

"What happened?" He asked, voice hoarse as he took in the various wounds the sailor had. Wind whimpered in pain, turning to the side as he began to cough heavily, the dim lantern light showing the fluid he was bringing back up was tinged pink. That sent alarm bells off in Four's head, and he swallowed thickly. Wind gave a strangled sound, his hand reaching up to his neck, tapping it several times before he finally managed to get his fingers to work right.

_ 'Throat. Pain. Crush.' _ He signed out, hands shaking heavily as he fought to catch his breath. Hyrule glanced at the bruising before quietly cursing under his breath.

"I don't have any magic to heal you, Sailor," Hyrule whispered, and that jogged Four's memory. He frantically began to search his pack, pulling out the various books that had been there before he found the first of two green jars on his person. He glanced up to see Wild had seemingly found his slate, and was searching it himself for anything.

He pulled it out, and held it out for Hyrule. The other hero glanced to it and then to Four, before he gave a relieved smile and took it. He undid the cork and took the potion with a swig, grimacing at the awful taste. Wind was back to coughing heavily, his arms weakly holding him up. Four finally saw that off to the side they had propped up Shadow, who was still out cold but was covered in a blanket. Probably from Hyrule's pack.

"Ah ha! I knew I had some Fairy Tonic!" Wild cheered, the screen of the slate illuminating his face with the blue light before he did a few taps, and suddenly he had two bottles in his hands, the pinkish liquid sloshing around as he grave a grin.

"Think you can swallow, Sailor?" Wild asked, kneeling down beside the other. Wind managed to take a raspy breath in, a liquid-like bubble in the back of his throat, before Wind shook his head. Hyrule immediately was pulling his magic forth, working on his throat first to try and get some help for the youngest.

"If we can at least get him to swallow some of this, that'll save you from having to take any more of these green magic potions," Wild offered, searching his slate again for more items to use. Hyrule didn't respond, focusing on his magic. Finally, he pulled back to allow Wind a chance to catch his breath. There was no response from Wind for a moment, before his hand reached up to his neck, and swallowed a few times. Finally, he reached out his hand to Wild.

"I... could use a drink." His voice was hoarse, as if he'd screamed his throat raw, and Wild gently passed the bottle of Fairy Tonic to the youngest; who took careful sips of the magical liquid. Four chanced to look at Wild again and frowned in thought, catching the other's attention as he stepped away.

"Where did you guys find your slate?" He questioned. Wild blinked, before he gave a sheepish smile, lifting a hand to the back of his head. Oh boy, he wasn’t going to like this...

"Well, we put your friend Shadow there, letting him sleep off the rest of the poison,” here Wild motioned to where Shadow was propped up against the wall. “And went to explore that room. That's where we found the rest of our stuff scattered amongst... everything." Four winced at the idea of them shifting around that torture chamber to all their items, but it was a lifesaving move right now.

Four watched as Wind's breathing began to sound much better, no longer was he coughing and he seemed to have more color to his face. Hyrule continued to watch him, moving the candle up to their face level and checking Wind's eyes. Four reached for the second tonic, glancing at it for a long moment, and then to Wild.

"Do you mind if you get a bit of backwash?" He questioned, and Wild gave a grimace at the idea.

"I'd like to use it and then to help Shadow over there," Four elaborated. Wild gave a contemplating look before a shrug, motioning for him to do so. Undoing the cork, he smelled the sickly sweet magic of fairies, before he took two gulps of the liquid. It really was overly sweet, but he managed it down. He could feel the warming effect it had on his entire body, and how the dull throb of his nose was now gone. He went over to where Shadow lay against the wall, gently shaking him.

"Shadow. Come on, wake up," he offered, trying to see him awake. Those ruby red eyes opened up a crack, a noise in the back of his throat the only sound. Four brought the lip of the bottle up to Shadow's face, tilting it slightly.

"You gotta drink some of this. It'll help." Shadow gave a noise, still looking weakly at Four, before he finally let the other give him sips. He pulled back when Shadow sputtered for a moment, seeing the grimace, before going back to gently putting more liquid into him. At half empty, Four pulled the bottle back. Shadow's eyes began to clear, and his whole body language told of his more awakened state. He glanced around for a moment, and then settled on Four with a relieved sigh.

"Hey..." Four gave a lopsided grin, before turning back to the others. He saw that Wind had finished the first tonic, leaning back on his good hand as Hyrule lifted his tunic, seeing the wounds the other had suffered were beginning to heal now. Good. They would all be okay.

"So who did this to you," Wild asked Wind, coming over with a large bottle that was filled with clear water and a rag from the slate, wiping at the other's face to try and see if there was anything else hidden under the grim.

"A lady... with weird glowing blue eyes and white hair," Wind managed out, frowning as he took the cloth himself and began to try and clean his own face. Hyrule and Wild glance at once another, sharing a glance with Four as well.

"We met her too."

"She tried to drown me..." Wind muttered with a groan, shivering as he looked back behind him. Four frowned a moment as he and Shadow came over. “Then… then when she stopped, I crawled through there a-and…” He trailed off as he curled up into himself, his hands coming up to his head and he held onto his head, as if trying to hid

"I'm just glad you're alive," Four offered with a smile, but Wind said nothing. Four knelt down, placing his hand on Wind’s back and gently rubbing circles. He handed back the last bottle to Wild, watching as the other took a few gulps of the fluid and then passed it over to Hyrule, who gave a shake of his head and pushed it away.

"So... how do we get out of here?" Shadow asked, making Wind jump in surprise at the new voice. Shadow just raised an eyebrow at the youngest, and Four reached into his pack to pull out the item he'd gotten from the chest.

"Well... we have a new item to use, thanks to Veteran." Four was never thankful for the hero that hoarded items and kept a bunch on himself at all times then he was now.

It was now just a matter of finding the way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad you guys made it to the end! It's been an interesting ride and I hope to let you all know that at max, there are only 2 more chapter remaining for this story. After that... the rest of this series is yet to be told.
> 
> Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! I hope you all get some sleep tonight~


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Childhood Trauma and facing your inner demons

He felt like the world was adrift; floating along a nothingness that extended in all directions. His whole head felt thick and scrambled, as if in a dense fog. Opening his eye, he couldn't see what was around him, and it was confusing. Was there something supposed to be around him? He couldn't tell... Thicker and thicker the fog seemed to grow, now a physical weight that would pull him down into the depths of a river.

Finally, he felt the weight lift and he felt himself stand upright on his feet. Opening his eye, he blinked a few times to see he was... in a maze? Overgrown bushes, rising higher and higher up into the dark sky, surrounded him, obscured by a thick fog. Frowning, he happened to look behind him, seeing a path to take, as well as forward. Which way did he go? Why was he here? Where was 'here' anyways?

“W _ithout a Fairy, adults get lost in these woods and turn into Stalfos! They're really scary!”_

He frowned at the memory of Fado telling him that story so long ago, before he inhaled and began to step forward. He had to get out of here; wherever here was. Through the twists and turns, the fog dense and only giving him the barest sense of what was ahead of him, he moved through the maze. Though he couldn't seem to find which was the true path. No markers or anything to identify where he was or if he's gone in a circle. But in the distance he could hear something. It was faint, like children whispering. He followed his path, trying to catch what the noise was, until it was right there beside him.

“ _You can't go see him! A defective twerp like you doesn't get to listen to the Great Deku Tree!”_

He stopped, frozen at the words, the memory, from so long ago. He remembered how Mido was seething at him, his eyes glaring as he held the Kokiri blade and the shield, because he was summoned by the Deku Tree.

“ _Well,even with all that stuff, a wimp is still a wimp! And even with a Fairy, you aren't one of us!”_

He shook his head, trying to ride the memory of that encounter away. It was all in the past. He continued forward, trying to block out the insistent memories that seemed to cling to him. He turned another corner and found only a dead end, and the shout of memories right in his mind.

“ _You're not even a real Kokiri! You don't have a Fairy!”_

Time put his hands over his ears, trying to block out the voice of Mido. He grit his teeth, trying desperately to block out the words. It was in the past! He couldn't go back and change it! He turned around, hands still clasped over his ears, as he tried to block out the world. But more and more memories came back as a deluge.

“ _Why does the Great Deku Tree have you here? If you don't have a Fairy, you don't deserve to be in the forest!”_

“ _My Fairy is an extension of me! Like my hand or foot! I'm not cheating!”_

“ _You should join the other Skull Kids! Then you'll be with someone like you!”_

“ _No Fairy wants to be your partner! You don't deserve to be here!”_

“ _I'm so sorry, Link...”_

He jerked as he heard that last voice and he whipped around, having been wandering lost in the maze, to see familiar blue eyes and green hair, like lush grass in the vast fields of Hyrule.

“ _I knew you would always leave the forest..._ ” She whispered to him, and he could only stand there, frozen as he watched her fade away. Time swallowed thickly, his eyes darting around to try and find out where he was. Nothing looked familiar to him and he had no idea what to do!

He quickly hurried through more of the maze, until he came to a large clearing, and he was met with the sight of a familiar dead tree. He could only stand in frozen shock, seeing the old face that was carved in the bark, the leaves having died off and fallen off, exposing more of the fog obscured sky above with the overly large branches that once looked like a shield against a storm, to be the gnarled hands grasping to the heavens for mercy.

“What did you do!?”

He turned to look behind him, seeing Mido standing there, as well as the other Kokiri, now looking up at him in fear and anger. Wait... when did he become their age again?

“The Great Deku Tree... Did he... die?” Mido asked, standing in front of everyone, his face twisted in shock before it turned to outrage.

“How could you let a thing like that happen!? It's all your fault!”

Time looked from Mido back to the Deku Tree, looking up at it's saddened state of decay and he felt so small, so helpless. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream that he didn't do it! He tried to save his only parent. He looked at the ground in shame, seeing a pair of plain brown boots, a green tunic and belt, and his own face reflected in a puddle, only so so much younger.

He felt his lip tremble, saw his vision blurring with tears, and he crumbled inside himself, all the while the rest of the Kokiri surrounded him, shouting and yelling at him. How he failed them, doomed them all. They had nothing to protect them in the forest now. That it was all his fault.

It was all his fault...

  
  


He awoke later, curled up on the ground. He looked and saw no sign that a tree had been in the clearing he was at, his eye felt dry and it hurt to move them, but he pushed through his pain to sit upright and take in his surroundings. He was still in the maze, there was still fog obscuring his vision, and there didn't seem to be any type of indicator that he had anyone with him earlier. Was it just a dream? Or a hallucination? He rubbed his face, seeing familiar gauntlets and saw in the same puddle his scarred face. He wasn't a child anymore. He could push it all away.

He began to wander again, lost in the forest maze, trying desperately to think of anything other than the oppressive blank that he was caught in. He continued to take twists and turns, unable to stop his feet from moving as he tried to understand where he was at. Was it curiosity? Was it for his own clarity?

He paused at a sound. He strained to listen, trying to guess what was in the fog ahead of him. Nothing was revealed, leaving him lost in the dark as he tried to pick up the noise. It was faint and repetitive, like rapid feet running in the grass. It wasn't human footfalls though. He continued to listen as he moved, trying to find where it was coming from. He stopped to rub his forehead, feeling how it throbbed angrily with the headache he held, unable to move forward as he stood there. It was like he was physically being blocked by his own mind, and yet he wanted to know. Stumbling, he made a turn to the left, and found himself in another clearing, only this time it wasn't like what he saw before.

_He was standing there, frozen as he watched the scene. A palace set aflame, the cries of alarm and battle echoing in the dark night, smoke mixing with the fog to obscure more details, but he watched as a woman, clutching something to her chest, stumbled out of the palace, coughing heavily before moving over to a soldier who stood at the ready with a horse._

“ _Please take my horse and flee, my lady! I will stand and ensure you and the young one get away safely!” The soldier helped the woman stand, the sound of a baby crying as she stumbled to the horse, being lifted on with ease._

“ _What of... of my husband?” She asked, and Time could only stare at her face, seeing familiar blue eyes and blond hair, bundled up in a bun at the back of her head, though it seemed to be coming apart with the effort._

“ _We... we are unsure. But I will let him know that you escaped to safety, My Lady!” The soldier told her, before he slapped the horse's flank and sent it racing off in surprise and pain. Time watched as she left, but he stood with the soldier, who waited there for a moment, and then dropped his sword and stood there, looking up at the burning palace. From under his helmet, Time could see the beginning of tear trails reflect in the light of the fire._

“ _You and the young one are safe, My Lady. That... that is all I am thankful for.” Time watched as the man brought a hand up to his side, and that's when he could see, under the armor, the dark patch of liquid that was trailing down._

“ _As long as you are safe, my love, then I... I am okay.” Time swallowed as the man fell to his knees, and then to his side, where his last moments were watching the palace burn._

“ _Your husband is a fool... to betray the King as he did....”_

Stumbling back around the corner, Time managed to gasp heavily as he pulled away from the thick fog, his hand clenching his chest as he landed back on his behind. Was that real? Was it truly real? He scrambled to his feet, coming back around to see that there was... nothing. Nothing was there in the dense fog, no scene to play out and torment him. Gritting his teeth, Time closed his eyes and gave his head a shake, attempting to just get his head to clear.

_'This isn't real.... this isn't real!'_ He told himself, a mantra he repeated over and over again to try and calm himself down. He had to make sense of all of this! That couldn't have happened in the past. It wasn't a real thing!

_'Is it?'_ Some part of him asked and he felt his whole world stop. It felt like the fog lifted, the air stilled, and all he could do was listen to his heartbeat in his ears. Slowly, he uncurled himself and opened his eyes. He was still in the maze, but somehow things felt... clearer. A weight off his mind seemed to lift but it was still obscure, still... restless. But he could think. He could breathe.

_'Is it real?'_ He asked himself, looking down at his hands for a brief moment and inhaled through his nose. He glanced to the sides again, before he found himself walking away, lost in the labyrinth maze he was in.

_'It's possible that that was true... The forests do hold stories to tell,'_ he reasoned, his hands coming up to brush against the bush, feeling thorns scrap across the skin of his fingers, but he paid it no mind as he moved. The fog was thickening again, and yet all he could do was continue to walk forward, aimless in his search.

Why was it getting harder to think?

He could feel himself slowing down, feel the way he could just stop and stare into nothingness. Then... he heard it. It was a quiet giggle, a child-like sound, and he followed it, as if trapped in a siren call of curiosity and knowledge.

_'-up!'_ he heard, so distant and quiet, but he didn't stop moving, trying to find the source of the other noises. The twists and turns of the maze left him confused and enclosed, but he also felt... safe. Like the forest was welcoming him again. He turned another corner and then found himself staring at another familiar scene.

The withered remains of the Great Deku Tree stood before him, but at the base of the tree, between it's great gnarled roots, was a little sapling. It was round like a ball, with a few leaves budded on it's branches, and cherubic face pulled in a smile. It was the Deku Tree Sprout, from when he had gone and released the evil spell of the Forest Temple.

_"Have you seen your old friends?"_ It asked him and he paused, nodding his head yes in confusion. _"None of them recognized you with your grown-up, body, did they?"_ No, he could agree that they didn't.

_"That's because the Kokiri never grow up! Even after seven years, they are still kids."_ Oh yeah. They don't grow up. But why did he? Wasn't he a Kokiri? The Deku Tree Sprout's face didn't change from it's smile, as if happy to impart a treasure to him.

_"You must be wondering why only you have grown up, huh? Well, that's because you're not a Kokiri, you're a Hylian!"_ Everything shattered to a halt.

Not a Kokiri. Not a Kokiri.

_"You're not a real Kokiri!"_

_"I'll never accept you as us!"_

The whole world seemed to up heave with that. He continued to stand there, unmoving even as the Deku Tree Sprout spoke, telling him but all he could hear was his head.

_"Not a_ **_real_ ** _Kokiri!"_

_"You don't belong here!"_

No longer was the face of the Deku Tree Sprout kind and cherubic. It looked twisted as shadows began to settle, and Time felt rooted to the spot, unable to move.

**"You had been granted clemency by me before, Hylian. But now... now you no longer are welcome here! You do not hold the magic of the forest in you!"** The Earth began to tremble and Time tore his eyes away to look around, seeing something crawling under the grass. Right towards him.

He pulled himself into action, rolling away as large roots erupted from the ground, having attempted to reach out and grasp him. Time ran out of there, racing through the dense maze of bushes, now trying to get out of there.

_'Come on!'_ Someone shouted at him in the distance, but he couldn't follow it, seeing it was behind him. He ducked a large branch that suddenly appeared from the bush maze, which had attempted to slam into his face and knock him out.

**_"Soldier of the Forest! Minions of the Goddess! Hear my call!"_ ** The Deku Tree Sprout called out and the maze went from peaceful disorientation to something out of a nightmare. He watched as everything seemed to breathe, how the leaves moved aside to show thick vines covered in thick thorns, and he began to run. Running faster to try and escape from it all.

He hissed in pain at the lashing against his cheek, ignoring the warm trickle of blood as he tried to navigate further into the foliage, dodging the attacks of the darkened forest. He was lost still, unable to figure his way out.

The sharp turn had him running smack dab into a dead end, yelping in pain with thorns digging into his face. He laid on the ground, gasping for air, and yet unable to move as he watched the vines begin to descend upon him.

_'Please get up!'_

He was wrapped up, the parts of his skin exposed now subjected to the stinging pressure of the thorny vines, and they enveloped him into painful darkness, wrapping around him. No longer was the forest a confusing comfort, no longer was it all just a trivial matter of getting out of the maze. He was captured in darkness, and now subject to the mercy of the magical forest he was stuck in.

_"You've met a terrible fate, haven't you?"_ A voice asked. He gasped as his eyes shot open, and no longer was he curled up, enveloped by thorns and vines, of an angry and dark forest. He was in a dark room, no windows to bring in any light. He turned around a few times, trying to catch sight of who said that, before being surprised when he spun around the last time to stand face to face with something that made him shake.

The figure was tall, with a strong build. Long white hair was plaited in the back, his armor was similar to what he wore, but what he had in gold, it was made out of silver. Under the armor was a pale blue over white tunic, and a simple light colored hat atop his head. But what surprised him the most was the other's face.

It was his own, mirrored back at him. Down to the markings that had been burned into his skin, and the blank white of the eyes that stared into nothing.

**_"Why do you fear using my power?"_ ** He was asked, though the other never opened his mouth, yet he could only feel fear as he stared at himself, seeing the handle of a familiar weapon behind him.

**_"We could have ended so much pain and suffering if you just used my power. Why have you forsaken my gifts, vessel?"_ ** Time didn't answer, trying to think of what to even say. He took a step back, just as the other took a step forward.

**_"Are you truly that much of a coward? Do you fear everything that you can do with power, that you seek to rid yourself from this world?"_ ** Time opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out. It was like his tongue was glued in place and the air escaped him.

**_"I do not require my vessel to be living, if he is wishing to be rid of himself."_ ** Time felt his heart stop as he watched the other figure unsheathe his blade, the helix design odd to look at but he knew the amount of power and damage that weapon held. Time took a few steps back again, just as the other took steps forward- wait, when did he grow taller? Or was he getting smaller? Everything seemed so strange and unreal, and he turned to race away.

_"Coward!"_

_“Useless!"_

_"You were never one of us!"_

**_"I do not need to have a weakling like you be my vessel."_** Time was assaulted with the hateful words over and over, and he rolled out of the way from the heat of the energy beam attack, glancing over his shoulder to see that the other was now so much taller, proving that him running was for nothing. Just a few strides and the other would be there to kill him.

He knelt down, panting as he fought for air, and could only watch as the large blade was pointed down at him, ready to pierce through armor and his body. Just as it was about to descend down, he caught a glimpse behind the tall God, long black hair with glowing red eyes.

**_"I will rid you of your will, you are mine now, Vessel."_ **

_"WAKE UP!"_

He gave a gasp, startling awake just when the blade had made to stab through his chest. He scrambled away, seeing unfamiliar faces blurred above him as he tried to get away. He scrambled to catch his breath, moving up onto his feet only to feel hands on his arms. Whipping his head around, he finally saw his vision clear to reveal the worried face of Warriors, who held onto his bicep firmly but not keeping him locked into place.

"Thank the Three," Warriors whispered, obviously relieved to see him awake. Time was confused, glancing around to see Sky and Legend were there as well, looking just as worried, but their hands were held out, as if he was a startled animal.

"You gave us a scare, Old Man," Legend began, Warriors letting go of him.

"What..."

"You'd been in here for a while and... we came to see if anything happened," Sky started, lowering his hands as they gave Time some room. "But when we entered the room, we just found you laying on the ground."

"You didn't wake up for a while. I even pinched and scratched you but nothing," Legend explained and Time reached up to his face, coming away with dried flakes of blood. He turned to look at them again and swallowed thickly. It... it was all a dream. It wasn't real. It didn't happen.

_'Or did it?'_ A voice asked in his head and he took a shuddering breath in and exhaled. Then he remembered.

"What happened to the woman?" He asked, turning to Warriors in alarm. The captain blinked a few times at him, confusion written on his face.

"There... was no woman in here," he offered and Time frowned.

"I do distinctly remember seeing a woman here. She... she's the one who-"

"There wasn't anyone else here, Old Man," Legend scoffed, rolling his eyes at him. "Didn't you hear us? We found you alone in here."

"Maybe the stress is getting to you," Sky offered, trying to find a means of logic in all of this. Time grit his teeth, wanting desperately to just shout and scream at them. He didn't hallucinate her, it wasn't the stress. There was something really really wrong with all of this. Time swallowed though and he looked at each of them. He could see how they tried to school and hide their feelings, but he could tell that deep down, they cared and were worried. They had just been scared that he wasn't coming back to them.

"Maybe..." He finally stated, looking away as he rubbed his face in exhaustion. This place was really going to make him go gray at this rate. He turned back to them and nodded.

"I'm sorry I gave all of you a scare. I... don't know how to explain it other than what I saw. Perhaps we should go further ahead into the Temple. We still need to find everyone else." Sky nodded first, and they turned to the door to open it, the roaring sound of fans echoing.

Time blinked a few times as he tried to clear the fog from his brain, and he glanced. It was a dead end in the room behind them, and nowhere else to go. He frowned, trying to clear away the mental fog that was seemingly stuck there, before he removed the Lens of Truth from his bag once more. He took a glance through, trying to see what was around him, before he saw it.

Just on the other side of the wall was a large alcove, hidden away by an illusion, with a door that was already unlocked for them. But... the question was how get everyone over without falling down? He put down the eyeglass and searched his bags again, looking for something, anything to try and see what the solution was.

The fans died down, no longer blowing the stale air around and leaving them all with a ringing in their ears from the cacophony of noise it held before.

"What you lookin' for?" Legend asked, raising an eyebrow at Time. He gave a frown before sighed heavily.

"So our path forward is behind an illusion wall," he began, getting a groan from Warriors beside him. "But it's getting over there that will be the issue. Especially for you guys." Time motioned to his feet, where he would put the magical coverings over his boots to allow him to float in the air.

"I've got my..." Sky trailed off as he made to pull his sailcloth off, and seemingly only now realized that it was torn to pieces. The look of utter despair on his face broke Time's heart, and he reached a hand out to grip his shoulder, his own way of trying to console him.

"I'll fix it later, Chosen," Legend offered and Sky just gave a nod, heaving a sigh as he put it away into his satchel. Time looked around the room, trying to see if there was some sort of hint to get everyone forward. He took a glance through the eyeglass again to see nothing on the other side to latch onto with hookshots. They'd have to get creative if they wanted to progress.

Time frowned in thought as he continued to look in his satchel, attempting to see if there was something that he could use to get them across. Specifically Sky and Warriors.

"Think you can take us across with your cape thingy, Veteran?" Warriors asked, and Legend gave a hum as he pulled out the blue cloak for a moment, turning it over a few times in thought.

"Maybe. But how would I be able to get one over and then myself? Especially since I can't carry either of you over." Legend glanced over at Sky who frowned in though, taking a glance through his items as well. Finally, Time gave a sigh and removed his hand from his satchel.

The fans began to start up again, drowning out any more speech as it whipped the air around in the room. Time glanced along the walls, seeing how there were two on each side, blowing in opposite directions that would leave anyone struggling to keep their footing if they didn't pay attention to what was happening.

The wind... That brought up a memory from long ago, when he had used the wind current to push him across the large gap into the alcove, using the exact fan that was across the way. That's how they could do it! He caught the other's attention, before he motioned to the fan and the other side of the wall, drawing their confusion.

Sky was the first to catch on, and gave a surprised look to Time. He nodded, watching as Sky gave an exasperated look at the prospect of taking a running jump to make it across. As the large machines powered down, allowing everyone to regain their hearing, Time spoke up.

"We can use the power of the fan wind to push us across the gap."

"Are you _crazy,_ old man!?" Legend squawked out, his eyes wide in surprise as he glanced back and forth. "I mean sure, I could use the wind and so could you, but what about these guys! I'm sure sky-boy here could just float across, but Warriors would just fall down like the boulder he is."

"Hey!"

"That is a fair point..." Sky mumbled in agreement, and Time frowned.

He took a glance over at Warriors for a moment before he went back to searching his bags, and pulled out the Hover Boots, shoving them into Warriors arms.

"Put them on," he stated, the other giving a noise of confusion as Time stood firm. "Put them on and you can make it forward."

"What about you?"

"I can make the jump. But I want you boys over there safely," Time explained. He watched the three of them stare at him and then look to each other, before finally nodding. Legend handed over the Roc's cape to Sky, who secured it for a moment and the two of them were put into position by Time's Lens of Truth. It took a quick moment of explanation, but they braced themselves for when the fans started back up. Time watched as Sky and Warriors raced to the edge, just as the full speed of the fan started up, and watched as the wind propelled them forward through the illusionary wall, hearing a few sounds of pain over the sound of wind roaring in their ears.

Legend gave a nod as he took a quick moment to activate his Pegasus boots and he raced over the edge of the platform, making it across with the helpful push of the wind in his favor. Good. All of his boys made it over safely. Time took a moment to brace himself, taking some calming breaths, and then he raced, jumping at a slight angle to catch himself in the crossfire of air being forcefully pushed forward.

He could feel himself soaring through the air, and yet he also saw that it was... not enough. His heart stopped, the world slowed to a crawl as he had the split second realization that he wouldn't make it. He reached his hands out, hoping that he could at least grab the edge. He gave a grunt of pain as he slammed into the wall just below the alcove, his fingers clutching the edge painfully. He was left hanging there, unable to pull himself up as he felt himself beginning to slip. He didn't want to think about what awaited down in the dark abyss.

His fingers slipped more and more, and he began to panic.

Just as he was about to lose his grip completely, he felt hands reaching out and wrapping around his wrists. He finally opened his eye to see the familiar gauntlets and vambraces of his friends reaching out, and he kicked against the wall to try and help leverage himself up even more, the three of them helping to hoist him up from the end that was below them.

When he was finally pulled up, he gave a heavy sigh of relief as he knelt on the ground, gasping for air as his heart finally seemed to catch up, beating rapidly in his chest as he shook with adrenaline.

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Legend asked, his tone indicative of his absolutely worried state of mind over the idea that they would have lost Time. He chanced a glance up to them, and looked away, frowning.

"I... made a mistake." he admitted.

"Damn right you did! By the Goddesses, you didn't think that through!"

"Veteran!" Warriors chastised, and Time held up his hand to stop the fighting.

"He's right. I didn't think it through," he admitted, managing to stand on wobbling legs. "But my priority was to get you guys over to this side safely. After that... I didn't think. I mistimed the fan stopping earlier than I thought. I'm sorry." It was silent for a moment between all of them, before Sky was the first to move, reaching out and pulling Time into a hug.

"Don't scare us like that, please..." It took everything in Time to keep himself calm, but he did hug the other bag.

"I'll try. But let's go further in. We don't need to jump over any more impossible gaps... I think." Warriors gave a groan as he handed back the coverings, and they stepped through the door.

The room ahead of them was long, the walls and floor covered in dirt, with two Blade Traps bouncing back and forth between the walls, but between those traps were two Gibdo's on either side of the room, facing each other but unmoving.

Time glanced at the other three, seeing them look at him, before he held up two fingers, and then pointed at each of them. Just like the ReDeads from before, they would take them on two on one. Time took the chance to pull out the familiar blue Ocarina, bringing it to his lips to play the same tune from earlier, the high notes bringing a sense of light and hope as it seemed to freeze the mummified creatures in place.

Warriors and Sky were the first to run over, jumping over the large blade traps to slice away at the creature. It gave a groan of pain with each slice, and Time ran over with Legend to do the same to the other creature, giving the same beat down to the undead creature with nary a sweat.

They stood in the middle of the room, the corpses of the creatures had fallen down but nothing else was happening. The door was still locked for their way forward, and no chest appeared. Time frowned as he glanced around, trying to see what was out of place in the room to try and figure out just what they had to do.

"Well?" Legend asked, frowning as he tried to see what was off as well.

"Give me a minute..." Time muttered, Sky and Warriors looking around in confusion for a moment as Time rubbed his forehead.

"Maybe there's something hidden under the rubble piles?" Sky offered, motioning that in each corner of the room was a large pile of dirt and rocks there, and Time frowned.

"How would we get it out though?" Warriors questioned and Time raised an eyebrow and tilted his head at him.

"Bombs are a pretty good start." Warriors glowered at him, ignoring that Sky gave a snicker beside him before he pulled from his bag a bomb flower, the fuse igniting before he tossed it into a corner. The bulb bounced a few times, before giving a mighty explosion, sending dirt and tiny rocks everywhere.

When the dust settled, there wasn't any chest revealed, making Time frown. Maybe under the other dirt piles?

Time motioned for Sky to light another fuse, taking a look in his own bag of explosives to see what the count was. Not many to use. Perhaps it'd be best to hold onto them. Just as he was about to turn to ask for more, he saw Legend pull out a few from his own pouches and lit the fuse, tossing it into another corner just as the one Sky had tossed exploded, more dirt and debris flying everywhere. When the dust settled, there was still no sign of a chest.

"Is this just a waste of our time and resources, Old Man?" Legend asked, sticking the last two back into his pouch as the third explosion rocked the other corner. Time gave a cough at hte dust in the air, blinking his single eye of the grit that had gotten into the corner.

"There was no key in the other room, so there has to be a key here for us to go forward," Time retorted with a frown. He glanced around briefly, distantly hearing Sky light another bomb flower to toss at the last and largest pile of rocks and dirt in the room. He contemplated for a moment before he pulled out the Lens of Truth to survey the room, trying to see if there was something he missed. Nothing showed up so far as a chest or even a hidden wall to pass through.

Just as he passed over the large group of rocks, the final bomb went off. He ducked out of the way of a large rock that had been intended to fly at his head, dropping his tool into the dirt beneath his feet, as he blinked a few times.

"Wow. I think even the earth has it out for ya, Old Man," Legend commented, getting an elbow to the arm by Warriors. Time frowned as he bent down to pick up the object, about to hold it up to his face when he froze in shock.

It was still intact, the red glass shimmering with the long slit in the middle of the eye, but there was a crack just starting at the top that ran all the way down to one side, and on the other side of the lens was another crack, this one more of a spider web network.

How!? How could it be broken like this!? This was really bad!

"What's wrong?" Sky asked curiously as he came over, and Time just held up the Lens, showing the network of cracks that were weaved through the delicate glass. One wrong move and it would shatter and be utterly useless. Sky's eyes widened, face growing pale as his ears drooped in despair. The others looked to see what happened, with the same reaction from all of them.

"What..." Warriors began, giving an impressive imitation of a fish as he tried to get his voice to work.

"A... A rock must have hit it." Time looked at the item once more before he happened to glance at the corner, seeing the chest that was finally revealed. Carefully, Time pocketed the item, hoping it didn't get jostled around too much with running around, and he swallowed thickly. He had to try and figure out how he could continue forward with limited use of the item. He passed by the slow moving Blade Trap that bounced between the wall, and felt around in the dirt for the chest.

"How are we gonna continue forward!? You said that was your only item that let you see things!" Legend shouted, obviously just as frantic as Time felt and he turned to the other three, having found the chest and kicked it open at the latch; illusion spell dropping to reveal that it was actually there.

"I don't know. But I'm gonna have to try to do my best with it. There isn't another one out there, and I don't want to go wandering through the well just to see if there's another one." He reached down into the chest to pull out the key, before tossing it at the others. Warriors caught the glinting metal key, before making his way over to the door, his face looking stoic but his eyes frantic in his worry.

With the padlock falling down and chains littering the floor, the group maneuvered around the other Blade Trap to open the door, revealing the next area. Though Time paused as he glanced back in the other room, frowning at the way his whole body tensed, but no sign of what caused it. That put him even more on edge.

There was no answer for him behind, so he closed the door to find himself in the other room. He saw the large wall to the right, with a pathway leading to an indentation in the floor. It led up to the top of a large ship that was docked there, the water looking more like a murky fog than actual liquid. At the bow of the ship, the figurehead was not anything serene or even peaceful to look at, but was frightening. It was a red cloaked skeleton, ever-grinning face staring ahead of the boat, it's arms down to each side holding two bells.

"Okay, I think I've seen just about everything now," Warriors commented as he stood there staring. Legend and Sky gave a nod as well. Time gave no response as he glanced over to the left, seeing a large block was under the large cell that was in the air, the iron looking just as rusted as everything else was in this place. He followed along the markings on the stonework at his feet, and recalled that he hadn't been able to reach up himself last time. So, the other's wouldn't either.

He allowed the other three to mutter to themselves, feeling around the cold block for anything to use to grab a hold of it to pull it into position. When he found it, Time wasted no moments as he began to pull it, grunting in exertion as he pulled and pulled, his feet slipping a few times as he used the enhanced strength of his gloves. But still no one came to help him, until he was nearly running into them. Legend gave a startled sound when Time bumped into him, making Warriors and Sky do the same.

"Don't worry, I've got this," he snarked, giving them a look as they moved out of the way, Warriors coming over to push from the other side.

"No. I've got it. Continue to stare at the ship."

"Sorry about that," Sky muttered, cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment when Time passed by him. He didn't respond, huffing out of his nose as he helped push the block into the crevice in the floor, dropping it down a few inches to let them climb up easier.

He paid no mind as he climbed up onto the large stone block, then used it to get up onto the platform that would allow them to walk onto the docked ship. On the deck was the painted marker for the Royal Family, the Triforce, engraved into the wood and painted. Time took a moment to see that the others had made it onto the deck, and he sighed as he recalled what they had to do.

"Alright this... is our last chance," he began, gaining their attention. "Once this ship goes, we can't come back to the rest of this place."

"What do you mean?" Sky asked, clearly confused like the other two were.

"Once the ship gets moving, and we make it to the end, the ship will sink down, and we can't go back."

"What about the others? Are you sure there's no other way?!" Legend asked, his anger evident in his face at Time. he held up his hands, motioning around him.

"If I knew another way I would take us. Going up there," he began, showing the cell that had been above the stone block previously. "would have taken us back to nearly the beginning of this place. And we don't have the time or resources to scour the rest of this place for the others. I doubt they're back the way we came as it is."

Nothing was said as everyone took in that information, and Time frowned. "My hope is that we can search the rest of this place before the end, and we can find them." No one moved to stop or say anything else to him, so he took the chance to pull out his Ocarina once more.

"When the boat gets moving, we will have to fight some Stalfos. Be ready." He didn't wait to hear any confirmation, and he began to play. It was a familiar tune, connected to the Royal family so intimately that anyone who played it was seen as a messenger of the Kingdom. When the notes of the Lullaby finished, reverberating against the stonework walls, the bells began to chime, the signal that the boat was to move. It took a moment or two before the boat began to sail off with rusted metal wheels.

The motion of the ship bobbing up and down made Time's stomach queasy, but he drew his blade and waited, ignoring the slowly passing scenery of the cave walls held up with man-made arches. After passing under the first arch, from the dark ceiling dropped the first Stalfos. It gave a rattling laugh, attempting to strike at the closest hero- which happened to be Legend. But it was thwarted when the other raised his shield, blocking the strike as he took a stab to the side, catching between the tibia and fibula bones of one leg. It was for naught when the skeletal knight jumped out of the way from Sky attempting to strike at it.

"Watch your feet!" Time shouted when Sky dodged a swipe at him, nearly tumbling off the edge of the boat. Time managed to get the attention of the knight, looking into those glowing eye sockets, he blocked the strike that had been attempted at his head, using himself as a distraction for Warriors.

The army captain was quick to take several stabs at the Stalfos, twisting the blade of his sword in between the ribs and spin to crack and splinter bones, pressing the pointed tip through the other side into the magical beating core of the knight. It gave a rattling groan of pain, and in it's distraction Time brought the entire weight of his claymore down, crushing the bones of its clavicle and scapula, breaking ribs under the weight as well before slicing into the core as well.

It gave a groan before falling forward, dissipating in wisps of green fire that left nothing in its wake. They took a moment to catch their breath, before jumping part when a second one descended, spinning around to see who it was fighting.

Time watched as Legend stood toe to toe with the creature, frantic in wanting to keep them away from the fight so he could just make sure only he was hurt, if ever. Sky was there as well, fending off strikes and playing the distraction angle to let Legend deliver the blows.

Glancing at the bow of the ship, Time realized that they were nearing the end of their trip. He turned around to witness Sky pierce the holy blade of the Master sword through the knight, hearing it give a cry of agony before disappearing as well in fire, leaving nothing behind.

"We need to get off the ship. _Now._ " Time insisted, showing that they were now coming to the end, only a black wall of darkness ahead as the ship slowed to a stop. None of them moved and Time felt his panic rising. Why weren't they moving!?

"The ship is gonna fall!" He didn't say anything else as the ship began to shake, as if whatever was holding it up was losing its grip. He jumped off, not wasting a moment dawdling to get the others to listen to him. He landed with a grunt, shooting pain going up his leg into his knee. But he heard the other three shout and grunt as they too landed on the side with him. It was silent save for their heavy breathing, and Time managed to use his blade to hoist himself up onto his feet, wincing at the stabbing pain in his knee.

"By the Goddesses, why didn't you say anything earlier?" Legend asked, making Time frown.

"I did. Did you not hear me tell you, before the ship began to move, that once it reached the end, it would sink?"

"I thought you meant a slow descent, not... suddenly watching it drop like a rock into a hole!" Legend retorted. Time pinched the bridge of his nose, Sky trying to ease the tension.

"What would make you think it would be slow and cautious? The rest of this place is far from that." Time was getting fed up with them. Why would they not listen to him? Why did they question him so much? Was he really that unreliable in their eyes?

_'I must be showing I'm weak if they are questioning me,'_ Time thought, frowning as he found himself drowning out Legend's shouts at him, the whole world suddenly growing quiet. He vaguely watched as Sky and Warriors were working to calm down Legend, and yet... All Time could do was just stare at them.

**_"You really are weak, my vessel,"_ ** The voice was right next to him, but when he turned his head to the side there was nothing. He blinked in confusion, feeling so lost and heavy all of a sudden.

**_"You've allowed this fool to insult you at every turn, degrade and demean you and all you've done,"_ ** Time didn't have an answer, because it was true. He's ignored Legend's jabs and general sour attitude for months now, not finding it in him to fight back or even correct him.

**_"Why have you not shown him what you truly can do? You are the leader for a reason."_ ** No he wasn't. He was far from any sort of leader. They just chose to have him lead around. Time closed his eye as he rubbed his forehead, trying to push away the mental fog that suddenly seemed to creep up onto him, making him feel so heavy and drained.

**_"We can prove to him how powerful we really are, Vessel. If you just showed him exactly what you can do."_** Time didn't answer, didn't move anything other than his hand to his forehead.

**_"They will not believe you, not look up to you, unless you prove yourself. You wish to belong, do you not?"_ ** That was true... he did want to belong. He wanted to be with the others, that his words could be counted on, that they believed him and accepted him.

_"Not a real Kokiri!"_

_"I'll never accept you!"_

_"Leave the forest! You aren't one of us!"_

**_"The angry one doesn't accept you, Vessel. But I do, even if you are so weak of will."_ **

Time found his vision drifting into darkness, and all he could do was stare at the same visage from earlier, where he stood before the God that inhabited the mask that tormented him so. He could only stare into lifeless eyes once again.

**_"You could use my power for so much, Vessel. If only you could see what I can give you."_ ** He couldn't move as he stared ahead. He wanted to turn around and walk away, to just ignore the voice and use his own strength. But... a small part of him was tired. So tired of having to prove over and over again that he could be counted on. He wasn't that old physically, he wasn't so wise and aging that he needed to be protected or thought of as a burden.

**_"If they wish to throw you away so easily, perhaps you aren't that much of a friend of theirs as you thought."_ ** Time gave a start at those words, focusing again on the same face as his own, feeling a sharp stab of guilt in his heart. Was it... true?

**_"Your caution is dismissed without a care, often they ignore your warnings or they flat out disregard their own safety to prove themselves."_ ** Time looked away, realizing that it was true. They did often ignore his words of warning, or they would run ahead into danger. He watched as the other before him, the spotlight from above the only light source in the black room, reached a hand out to him.

**_"I can help you, Vessel. All you have to do, is let me help you."_ **

Could he really give himself up like that? A part of him felt so tired and weak, exhausted in a way that only the constant struggle of trying to prove himself constantly over and over to them. He hesitated, about to reach his hand out to grasp the others.

_'Old man!'_ He heard right beside him, but so distant. He jerked awake, having stood there still but now, the other three were looking at him in worry.

"You okay?" Sky questioned him, and Time took a moment to pull himself back, to calm his racing heart. Why did that happen?

"You zoned out there for a long time," Warriors asked, Legend off to the side with an angry face. No. He had to keep himself calm. He nodded slowly, giving a shaky inhale of air as he rubbed his face.

"Yeah. Just... just pulled back into a memory," he admitted, looking away as he tried to calm himself once more. He didn't pay attention to the looks that were shared between Sky and Warriors, turning to look across the way over another pit filled with the same ghostly water, where two large statues stood. The intact one was a crow, its beak open in a ‘caw’ with eyes glaring out, the second one was crumbled, part of the top having landed into the platform they stood on, just before a metal door.

"You sure?" Sky offered, and Time nodded. They had to get moving, to search for the others. He would have to push aside his own problems. Getting the others out of this place was more important than his own troubles. He turned to head to the door when something caught his attention. His ear twitched, trying to hear the noise again as he listened around.

He heard it again and looked over to the side of the walkway, staring into the ghostly waters that swirled. It was like something metallic was hitting stone, and then... panting?

"Do you hear that?" Time questioned, catching the attention of the others. They seemed to pause in confusion, looking around to catch the noise themselves, but they couldn't hear it. Time knelt down to look into the depths, trying to see with only one eye into the depths. Wait, something was coming up.

"Ya know... could use some help here!" A voice shouted down below and Time felt his heart race. He recognized that voice!

"Champion!" He called out, getting the other three to look over as well. They were surprised though when they still couldn't see past the thick fog, but then a chain and a hook shot up from beneath it, dragging past them to finally latch onto a lip of stone to secure it in place.

"They're alive!" Sky cheered, now searching his bags for anything to help them up. Time frantically pulled out his Longshot, hoping he could unwind the chain and use it as a pulley to get them up further. He found the locking mechanism and it released the tension coil inside, allowing the chain to unravel. He tossed it over the edge where the other was, and then felt weight grab onto it.

"Hold on!" Time called down, looking frantically for anything to use to brace himself. He saw part of the crow statue that had crashed into the walkway, and could tell it would still be secure enough to brace his feet against. He carefully moved and put a foot there, and tensed.

"Okay! Go ahead and climb!" He called down, Warriors coming up to give him an extra hand, as Sky and Legend were looking down into the depths, ready to grab any hands.

The first person they weren't expecting was Four to be shooting up in the air, held in the arms of someone that looked just like him, only in black clothes. They managed to land on the walkway, Four rolling and just laying on the ground in a daze as the other person just.... floated in the air.

"Okay, don't ever make me do that again!" The other person said, but Time didn't pay any attention as there was a sudden jerk on the chain, nearly toppling him and Warriors over but they managed to hold their ground.

"I can see them!" Legend exclaimed, laying flat on his front now to try and reach out. Time could feel pain searing up his arms, and he caught the sound of stone starting to crumble and crack. No. They weren't gonna last here! And he wasn't about to drop this.

"I gotcha, Traveler!" Sky cheered out and he watched as both Legend and Sky were hauling up one of the boys, who finally just collapsed on his hands and knees panting for air, before they were working on the last one.

"I can't hold on!" Wild shouted down below, and Time felt his heart nearly drop. He glanced at Warriors for a moment, and made a quick decision.

"Let go."

"What!?"

"Let go! I'm gonna reel them in!" He insisted. He could see that Warriors looked torn about this, but Time watched as the captain let go of the chain, and Time pressed the mechanism to begin reeling in the chain. It was slow and heavy, but Time held on, arms shaking as he strained to keep his grip.

"I've got the Sailor!" Sky called out, and Time didn't look over, eyes closed as he tried to hold on. He didn't see the spike of the statue break, and he stumbled forward, nearly dropping everything. He hit the ground with his elbows, shouting in pain as he was dragged down to the edge before Warriors grabbed him by the back of his breastplate, keeping him from tumbling down the edge as well.

"Hold on just a bit more!" Sky called out, and Time started to reel Wild in again. He could barely hold on though, his hands burning with fire as it strained against his fingers.

"Got him!" Legend shouted, before the weight on the Hookshot loosened, nearly dropping it down in the abyss. Warriors let go of him and Time just laid there, panting heavily. He turned to glance at the other boys, and paled at their state.

They were covered in blood and grime, pale in a way that showed they had just suffered through some injuries. Legend was stuffing his Hookshot into his bag again, kneeling beside Hyrule and rubbing his back.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay," Time managed out, grunting in pain as he stood back up. He was winded, arms and hands aching, but he was more concerned about every one of these boys.

"Define okay," the new voice explained, and Time narrowed his eyes at the floating boy that looked just like Four, seeing red eyes glaring back at him.

"Shadow..." Four groaned out, sitting up to point at the newest member. "Play nice, _please._ They're the rest of my friends."

"Why is a Dark here?" Time growled out, tense and ready to fight the dark creature that was before him. If there was a creature of dark magic before them, then there was more at stake now.

"For one, I don't _work_ for any big bad guy, so keep that opinion up your ass," Shadow started, and Time glared. "Second, you wouldn't have any of these guys up here if it wasn't for my help."

"It's true," Hyrule began, looking up at Time with a pleading look. "He managed to see through some of the Shadows to help us start climbing. If it wasn't for him..." Hyrule shuddered.

"We'd still be in that place..." Wind whispered, his eyes wide and haunted.

"What place?" Sky asked, his face full of concern as he rubbed Wind's back, making him jump in surprise.

"It was dark... And and... just so much," Wind stuttered out, wringing his hands in his bloody tunic. Time frowned as he tried to think.

"There were spiders and... and Gibdos. Not to mention some absolutely grotesque _thing_ trying to eat me," Four elaborated, shuddering as he took a steadying breath. Time felt his stomach drop in realization.

"You guys were in the _Bottom of the WELL!?_ " Time questioned, realizing just where they had been at.

"Not only that thing but... but there was a woman there too that tried to kill us," Wild managed out, shuddering as he used the last of the water in Legend's waterskin to try and clean his hands, seeing the blisters and the way that his nails were just torn apart.

"A woman?" Warriors questioned, searching his bags to try and find something of use to help with Wild's fingers.

"She had white hair and... and horns," Four explained, bringing his hands up by his temples before pulling them back to point behind his head. "She was absolutely insane."

"She tried to drown me..." Wind mumbled, shuddering as he hugged himself and curled up into a ball. "Then... then I think she did an illusion? Made me think that Aryll was down there too."

Time could only stare at the scene before him, seeing how each and every one of them were hurt and suffering, all because of _him._ He couldn't speak, couldn't move as he saw all of them, so broken down against all that they had seen and fought against.

"Stay here you guys," Time finally managed out, 8 heads turning to look at him. Time inhaled and steeled himself. He had to keep them safe.

"Just stay out here and be safe. I can take a look further in and try and figure the rest of it out." Time didn't wait for an answer, turning quickly around to enter into the metal door for the next room, leaving the others in the other room to let them recover.

Time pressed himself against the door, closing it with a loud clang as he tried to catch his breath. He opened his eye to stare in the room, jumping in surprise as he saw it was a room with four pillars, and to his left were two disembodied hands walking around, large enough to wrap around his whole torso and squeeze him.

They didn't seem interested in him, moving around languidly over on the other side, and he swallowed nervously. He hated Floormasters. But he had to continue to search for Twilight, and how to get out of this place. He glanced around the room for a moment before he began to walk forward, cautious in his movements as he proceeded forward.

He suddenly ran into something cold and solid, making him grunt in pain as he rubbed his nose. There wasn't anything visibly in front of him. and he frowned for a moment before he realized what the problem was. He dug in his bag for a moment, freezing at a noise and turned around, seeing one of the Floormasters had spotted him, and had attempted to ram into his person but was stopped by the invisible wall. So they could 'see' him, but they were subject to whatever this place was as well. A plus in his books honestly.

He pulled out the cracked Lens of Truth, frowning before he brought it up, his hand shaking as he saw the walls now visible to his eyes. He couldn't go forward, so his only option was to go to the left, to where the Floormasters were. Frowning, Time put away the item for safe keeping- praying above that it didn't break completely- and drew his blade. He rounded the corner, the first Floormaster running at him but it was trapped by the wall, as the second was meandering away. Perfect.

He swung his blade, watching it cleave cleanly through the decayed flesh of the creature, hearing an otherworldly screech as it crumbled, only to see it split apart into three mini versions of itself, scattering away in a fright. Just great!

He struggled to pull it off his chest, ignoring the pain throughout his whole body, realizing he was getting too weak to pull it off. The sounds of painful hisses and then he looked up to see Warriors was making his way through the invisible made to him. He tried to wave the captain away, knowing it would only get worse, but suddenly the other was in front of him, and was desperately pulling at the creature.

"Let go of him!" Warriors grit out, and suddenly the creature released from Time, leaving him gasping for air on his hands and knees. Warriors scrambled to his feet, and he pierced the dazed creature with his own sword, wasting not a moment to defeat it. Silence greeted the two of them, and Time chanced to look up at him.

"Dammit, Old Man!" Warriors chastised, reaching to help pull him up onto his feet. "You don't have to do any of this alone you know." Time frowned as he looked at the other, taking his hands and pushing them back down off his shoulders.

"I'm aware, but I've done this before. And I'm not about to let you boys suffer any more from this place."

"I'm just as capable as you are!"

"I'm not saying you aren't! But you don't know what's in this place!"

"Stop pushing us away!"

"And stop thinking me so weak!" Time finally snapped, glaring hotly at Warriors. He met cobalt blue eyes, a fire of anger hidden in the depths but his face portrayed his confusion.

"I know you guys think I'm losing touch here, that I am withholding information or, or that you think I'm not strong enough. But thrice dammit! I'm just trying to keep us moving forward so we _don't_ end up in even more hot water!"

"We don't think of you as weak," Warriors began, reaching out to place a hand on his arm but Time stepped back.

"You don't have to say it. I'm well aware that the Veteran thinks so. It's pretty clear that you all don't want to listen to me. Just... Just go back. Keep them safe for me."

"And leave you here alone?"

"Yes."

Warriors stared at Time for a minute, his face frozen in shock, but Time wasn't backing down.

"I need you to keep them safe. I need you to make sure that... that if anything happens, they'll listen to you." Time could feel himself shaking as he stood there, but he was resolute in trying to get Warriors to just _listen._

"I'm no leader, and I doubt that you'd be worse off if I wasn't here," he began, looking away as he felt himself grow calm. "You have led an army, you inspire them more than I ever could. I'm not worth anything at-" Time was cut short by the burning hot sting across his face. Warriors had reached out and struck him, his face contorted in anger as Time stood there, stunned.

"Listen here, Old Man," Warriors grit out, grabbing Time by the straps of his pauldrons to pull him close.

"I don't know what the fuck has happened when you were away, but I know the Hero of Time would never say any of this," Warriors hissed out, his eyes hard like ice and Time was left dumbfounded.

"You are just as important to us as we are to you. Don't you _dare_ think for a second that I would just abandon you. You belong with us, and you are the only one who knows how to navigate this place!"

"But I-"

"Don't you 'but I' me! That's a load of crap to believe. And if you do believe it, I'm going to beat your ass until you change your mind. You are one of us. And I don't want to lose you too!" Time blinked, finally seeing the way the captain was holding back his unshed tears, looking so distraught at even having to say this to him. It broke Time's heart, looking down at the clenched fists that were holding onto him, seeing how they shook in the effort to keep him right there, looking at him.

"Do I have to have a beat down with you, Old Man, in this hell hole of a place, to knock some sense into you like I do the recruits?" Warriors threatened, and Time winced at the memory of that happening so long ago.

"No..." He answered weakly.

"Then I'm not leaving you."

"Okay..."

Warriors let go of him, and Time had to take a moment to calm himself, turning away to gather himself before turning to Warriors. Leave it to the army captain to both make him feel so small but also build him up. He took a moment to try and look between the three doors, and he took a glance over to see the one that was just beside them to the south. It was the closest door, and they could reach it without running into any other walls.

He came to the door and opened it, Warriors following behind quickly. Stepping inside they were shocked by the scene. The room had thick chains hanging from the ceiling, various piles of dirt and bones hanging around, with in the middle of the room was a pair of beams crossed into an X-shape. But what was hung on the beams made Time's heart lurch in his chest and his stomach drop.

"Pup!" Time exclaimed in absolute terror, wanting to run over and pull the teen down. Twilight lifted his head at the noise, half his face bruised and swollen, while the other was covered in blood.

"Look... out," Twilight managed weakly, his breathing rattled with every inhale. Time had no chance to think before both he and Warriors were plowed into by an invisible force, pushing the wind right out of his body as he hit the wall. He groaned, vision spinning for a second as he picked himself back up, drawing his sword to try and figure out what was there. He heard the tapping of claws on the stonework and cursed, dodging to the right, Warriors going to the left, when the air shifted so suddenly.

"It's invisible!" Time exclaimed, trying to listen by sound where it was. He didn't dare pull out the broken Lens, not willing to drop it in this whole fight.

"how are we gonna fight it then?" Warriors questioned, shield raised as he stood in front of Twilight. Time looked around for a moment, and then an idea struck. He sheathed his sword, much to Warriors surprise, but he wasn't staying idle for long.

Time mumbled a few words under his breath, his hands together, praying that he could still do this, before he extended his hands upwards, the magic glowing in his hands, before he pressed them down on the ground at his feet. The blue magic that had been glowing between his hands forming a large crystal barrier around the three of them, protecting them but also he could feel the drain on his magical energies.

"You could do this?" Warriors questioned, surprised by the way the magic barrier spun around them. Time stood there as he panted, sweat dotting his brow as he swallowed thickly.

"It'll hold for a while, but.... I can't use any more magic or the barrier falls down. We cannot be hurt while in the barrier," Time explained, seeing something attempt to hit the crystal that surrounded them, seeing the rippling effect on it, before it stopped, whatever had hit now recoiling back in pain.

"How long do you have?" Warriors questioned, his shield raised up in anticipation.

"I... I can hold it for 20 minutes tops, why?" Time questioned as he made to draw his blade.

"Because I'm going to-"

"No! Get Ordonian down! I can take care of this... this thing," Time interrupted, feeling the barrier ripple again with the attempted attack once more.

"But-"

"Let me take care of this! Please!" Warriors just gave him a look before he nodded, dropping his weapon to begin working on undoing the shackles that held the other suspended. Time waited for a moment, trying to see at which angle it would attack at. To the left the invisible creature attacked again, and Time instantly moved, stabbing through the barrier into the flesh.

A familiar hissing noise and he knew that it was another Floormaster. Time frowned in frustration, hearing them skitter away for a moment before they started to come back towards them. He was prepared, spinning on his heel at the first ripple of the barrier. He heard the sounds of at least two disintegrating, leaving only one remaining and invisible still.

Time took a minute to catch his breath, and then he spun when the third one had hit the barrier. He guessed where it landed, panting at the last shrieking death that echoed in the room. It was silent before the bars that had been dropped down over the door lifted, allowing them a chance to leave when they got it. Time straightened up and took a chance to see if Warriors needed help.

The last shackle was unlocked, allowing the older teen to drop into Warriors' grasp. Twilight was covered in a multitude of bruises everywhere, a cut above his eyebrow and on his lip. He could see through his tunic that he'd also suffered a variety of wounds that would make anyone wince in pain. Judging by how his leg looked, it was possibly broken, so having him walk would be a no go.

"Pup?" Time asked, getting a quiet 'huh' from the teen, and Time felt his heart shatter at the sight of his descendant. He reached a shaking hand out, pressing it against the unbruised side of his face.

"Oh pup... I'm so sorry..." He whispered, his whole soul filled with grief at the idea he'd taken so long to get to him. If he'd not met that woman, had he not been dawdling around for so long, his injuries could have been less.

"Not... yer fault," Twilight mumbled, his eyes unfocused. Time looked to Warriors for a moment before he pressed his hands on his shoulders.

"Take him back out to the others. I will take care of the rest."

"No, I can't-"

"He needs to get healing! Please, just take him out there, and I will be back out there." Warriors looked torn, but he did eventually agree. After helping sheath the sword and strap the shield in place, Time held the door open for Warriors to help take the limping Twilight out of the room, watching him take the careful path through the invisible walls to the door they had entered.

They left with a final look back, and the door closed with a resounding clang. Time took a moment to breath a shaky sigh of relief, clenching his eyes close in anguish.

Turning back around, Time went back to the room, seeing the chest that they had missed when it appeared, and kicked it open. It was a simple silver key, which he instantly pocketed to keep it safe, before going back out into the invisible maze. Time frowned as he felt his way along the walls, not willing to accidentally drop the broken Lens of Truth in his attempt to make it through. He came to the second door, daring to open it to only see a simple room, with a rotating platform that had three skull statues going around, a blue flame at the top.

He frowned before turning back around and closed the door, deciding that if they needed anything in there he could always swing around and attempt the room. He continued to try and follow some sort of path through, before finally he got to the third and final door in the North.

Opening the door and stepping inside, Time was surprised when the door locked behind him, and the walls began to close in. They were made of thick wood, with parts of the boards rotted out to show space on the other side. The really dangerous part was the fact that large spikes were driven through the wood in rows. He'd be skewered if he didn't think of something quick.

Time tried to think, tried to figure out what he could do to stop from being crushed and from impaled, when he remembered. He had enough magic in him to cast one other spell. Was it worth it though? Time frowned but decided he had no chances to waste. With a murmuring of words under his breath, he clasped his hands together, feeling the burning magic between his palms, before with a shout, he slammed his hand down onto the ground, a dome of fire erupting around him before exploding outwards.

The wooden walls cause aflame easily, disintegrating into ash within moments, and the sounds of pain on the other side drew his attention. Just behind the walls were two ReDeads, both having been burnt by the magical fire he had cast.

And now heading right towards him!

They meandered to him slowly, their gait simple and Time drew his blade, jumping aside to get out of their reach as he tried to guess how close he could get before they gave their screech that would paralyze him.

He was backed up against the wall, his eye looking back and forth between the two creatures, before he rolled to the side, getting him close to the ornate looking chest. He glanced at the ReDeads as they began to turn to come back after him, and Time frantically searched his bags for something, _anything,_ to help him out.

He pulled out the first item he grabbed, which was a bomb and frowned. How was he... ah. Time lit the fuse easily and tossed the explosive towards the creatures, seeing it bounce once, twice, before coming to a stop at their feet. They didn't react, still intent on trying to catch him, and were caught unaware as the bomb exploded.

He ducked behind the chest as the splintered remains of the wall masks attempted to hit him in the face, and when he turned back there was nothing there. Taking this moment, he fought to catch his breath, clutching at his chest in an attempt to slow his rapid heartbeat. Turning to the chest once more, he reached down to open it, and saw the one thing they needed to get out of this place.

With the large golden key in hand, he made a hasty retreat out of the room, intent on getting out of this place once and for all. He wouldn't be a burden on them, he wouldn't be useless. He could do something for them and not be so long in his own damn head. When he made it out into the other room, he saw the others had gathered around Twilight, Wild forcing a potion of sorts down his throat, while Hyrule was working to set the broken bone in his leg with minimal pain.

"I got our ticket out of here," Time commented when Four looked up at him from the book in his lap. The short hero nodded, his face pale before he motioned him over. Time frowned as he stepped beside the multicolored hero and had the book shoved in his hand. He looked between the book and Four, who said nothing and put his face in his hands. Shadow floated down beside him, a look of concern there that had Time frowning. He didn't want to trust the dark but he hadn't done anything yet to have Time's distrust. Glancing down, Time frowned that it was in the middle of the book, but he decided to read.

_'Prisoner number 124. Brought in for treason against the King and Royal Guards. Under the circumstances most would have him executed, but the King ordered that experiment number 10 be used on him as his punishment. Should he survive, he will walk free. If not, he is to be used at our disposal.'_ Time frowned, seeing the date was... certainly years ago when this had been written, before he went down, seeing more log dates and numbers. Various crimes and the description of their punishment were documented, and Time felt the pit of his stomach drop.

"Where did you find these?" He asked, closing the book before he got sick to his stomach.

"We found them in that... that well place. It was in the tunnels in a hidden chest," Four admitted, rubbing his arms as he gave a shudder. "There were more books than just that one."

"May I read them?" He asked. The look Four gave him was of worry, before nodding. Carefully Four began to pull out book after book, until there were a total of 10 different books in front of him. Taking a glance at Twilight, Time took the moment while Twilight rested to begin reading, worry knotting in his stomach over what he was about to look through.

_'Experiment 5. Use of magical spells to preserve the life of the prisoner while under the duress of stress. The various trials are as follows:'_ Here time skimmed through the sentences, frowning at the information that many of them had failed, only two managing to stay alive out of the... possible hundred of prisoners used. He tossed the book aside and grabbed another, seeing the title was etched with the number 10 in the front.

_'Experiment 10: Use of flower extracts to use in extracting information. The flowers in use are as follows: Bloodroot, Deadly Nightshade, Foxglove, Hemlock, Monkshood, and Lily of the Valley. Possible combination of the flower extracts to produce more powerful effects?'_ Time frowned as he read that, glancing over at Legend for a moment before he began to read more, his stomach twisting at the description of some of these experiments that humans had been subjected to.

Rashes, burns, nausea and heart attacks. Some seemed to go into a coma, others began to bleed out. Others just stopped breathing all together because of this, and Time felt so ill. He closed the book quickly, turning away at the very idea of what really was going on in this place.

"Yeah..." Four commented quietly, glancing at Time from the corner of his eye. The idea that Four had read that made Time anxious, but he quickly gathered up the books and stowed them away, not willing to read any more for the time being. He couldn't handle the thought that lives were taken and used to callously.

But a part of him wasn't surprised. It was the Royal family, willing to have one mask in front of the public, but beneath it was something far darker and crueler than even the King of Evil had done. Ganondorf had been evil up front and plain in view for all to see. Time stood on his feet once more, seeing that Twilight was beginning to wake.

"Are you okay, Pup?" Time asked, walking over to see how the farmhand was. Twilight didn't answer, taking a moment to swallow a few times before he managed to speak.

"Been through a lot... but I think I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" Sky asked, and Twilight nodded. Wild gave a frown, glancing up at Time for a moment and heaved a sigh.

"You've been through enough though."

"It makes me wanna get out of here quicker, Champion," Twilight mumbled, flexing his hands for a moment before pushing himself up to stand, wobbling for a second and then turning to look at Time.

"I don't want to be a burden on all of you." Time felt struck by those words, as if Twilight had implied that he was a burden. But Time swallowed his response and nodded.

"You are far from a burden, Pup," Time explained, clasping him on his shoulder. "Are you sure though? Any lingering effects."

"Other than just being absolutely wrecked and sore? I can fight, I can stand. I think I'll be okay." Time leveled him a look, forgetting about himself to try and ensure that Twilight knew that this was about him.

"What about...." he trailed off, knowing the other understood what he implied. Twilight frowned as he massaged the area on his chest, just where his heart was, and looked away.

"It's still.... empty feeling. Like a void that won't close." Time nodded in understanding.

"You are the one that knows your own limits," he started, turning to look at everyone for a moment longer, and exhaled. He would have to explain what they would have to go do next.

"Going forward, we have just a little further ahead before we defeat the evil that inhabits this place," Time began to explain, seeing he had everyone's attention now. "The thing is called Bongo Bongo," a snort from his left turned his attention to the darkling that floated around, who was trying to stifle his laughter and he flinched at the glare Time had sent him. Good. He still had that.

"He won't appear for a majority of the fight. But If you have a bow, it will be extremely handy." Time paused as he rummaged around in his bag once more and pulled out the chalk from before, sprinkling it on the ground to create a pile, and then began to draw in it.

"He has detached hands that he can move anywhere in the room, mostly beating upon the platform we are fighting him on. We will have to shoot his hand at least twice each, and then he will charge. Either myself or the Traveler will have to aim at his eye when he charges since he is invisible to the naked eye, before we can even think of attacking him."

"So... hit the hands, someone hits the eye, and then we wail on him. Right?" Legend asked, getting a nod from Time. "Easy." Time frowned at the flippant response but he said nothing else for a long moment and then looked at each and every one of them.

"So... how do we cross?" Sky asked, looking across the way to the locked door ahead of them, which was across the pit that they had pulled the others up from. Time frowned as he felt around for his quiver, finding there were only a few arrows remaining, and he wasn't sure if he could see the bomb flowers that were rooted there.

"I think I've got some bomb arrows," Wild mumbled, searching his slate for a moment while everyone began to take stock of all their items, distributing arrows and potions, taking the chance to really take stock in all that they had, and what they didn't have.

Time pulled out the Lens of truth, seeing that more cracks had appeared from where it jostled around in his bag. He frowned, trying to think on how he could even think to salvage this whole situation. He doubted that Four could fix a magical artifact like this, especially when no one knew how Sheikah magic even worked. It was close to whatever it is that Wild used, but it wasn't the exact same. He also doubted that they would be making a stop to Wild's era any time soon. Especially if they were being toyed with.

"Something on your mind?" Time turned to look at the dark that shared Four's face, seeing the raised eyebrow at his general direction as he floated along in the air. He frowned, glancing back down at the Lens for a moment before pocketing it.

"It's nothing. We'll be alright." Shadow stared at him for a long moment, eyes narrowed as he stared long and hard at Time.

"Ya know, lying isn't a good thing. It's especially if we're in as bad of a situation that you say we’re in." Time frowned, giving a glare at the dark who flinched back.

"It is nothing to concern yourself with. We will be fine," Time insisted, watching as Wild pulled out one of those infamous Bomb Arrows and nocked it, before he let it fly. It sailed in the air before landing at the base of the other statue, setting off a chain reaction that allowed the vertical statue to crumble down, and then fall forward with gravity. A few of the Links scrambled away from the edge that it had slammed into, but when the dust settled they had a bridge across to the other side of the room.

"Let's get out of this creepy place," Wind muttered as he immediately jumped up onto the felled statue, crossing it with the eagerness of someone wanting to get out of a charging Dodongo's path. One by one everyone was crossing over the path, to where the single metal door sat, locked to bar their path forward. But Time already had the key, and he unlocked it deftly, stepping through to the next room.

It was fairly small room, brick work on all the walls to the ceiling, but below where the floor should have been was a bottomless pit, and across the way was a large black door, a skull embedded in the panel looking at them, a large golden lock and chains keeping it from being entered.

"Okay... how do we get through?" Legend asked as he stuck his headin, the platform outside the door only big enough to hold maybe 3 of them on it. Time frowned as he looked at the empty room, and then dug in his bag once more.

He held the Lens up to his face, and saw the revelation of invisible platforms would guide their path. Time put the object back into his bags, glancing around to try and get his mind to think.

"Maybe..." Sky began, his voice quiet as he looked thoughtful. Time turned to him, seeing behind the man in the doorway the others were trying to look around his shoulders curiously.

"How much chalk powder do you have left?" Sky asked, his face determined. Time dug around and found the pouch, opening to peer inside.

"Perhaps... three handfuls. Why?"

Sky dug around in his pouches for a moment before he pulled a large bag-like object, though it was made of metal and painted in many bright colors.

"I could use the Gust Bellows to scatter the chalk, It should stick to the platform and give us all a chance to see where we are going."

"You didn't think to use that before, Chosen?" Legend asked from the side, Four now squeezing into the frame with Shadow floating along. Sky gave a shrug as he adjusted his grip on the object.

"It didn't cross my mind at the time since... well..." he trailed off at that point. Legend gave a sigh, rolling his eyes but he ultimately let it drop. Time poured a decent handful out of the pouch, and moved beside the younger man.

"Try making a sweeping motion back and forth. There is a lot ahead of us," he offered, and Sky just nodded. He pressed a button on the side before it was sucking in the air from the back, and it was a strong force being blown up from the front. Time raised his eyebrow at it, but he began to let the chalk scatter around in the wind, seeing how it dusted in the air and coated everything it was blown onto. Including the invisible platforms.

"Huh... that worked better than I thought it would," Legend admitted, his brows raised in surprise as he put his hands on his hips. Time looked back at the others behind the door and then forward.

"Let's move ourselves forward to try and continue making the path, Chosen." Sky just gave a nod, before they both took a leap, landing on one of the narrow platforms. Time reached out to stop Sky from wobbling, almost falling forward. A few of the others trickled in, watching the two work together to show the path forward to them leading to the ominous door before them all.

He motioned for them to start following along, Sky finished in making the rest of the room visible from the chalk, one by one all of them starting to jump across to platforms, leaving only Hyrule last to help direct everyone to the correct path forward.

When all of them stood at the door, Time counted each and everyone, giving the floating Shadow a look before he looked to the golden lock. He was about to put the key forward when he took note of the shape, and shivered. It was shaped much like a Skulltula, and where the head would have been, he swore he felt eyes looking at him. Shaking his head, Time inserted the key and twisted. The whirl of a mechanism sounded, the lock spinning inside before it released, dropping to the ground and the chains that had been connected dropping like cut threads of a web.

"Alright, that is actually very creepy," Shadow stated from the side, pointing at the skull that stared at them. Time said nothing else but he pushed against the door, watching it raise automatically. The other room was dark and smelled musty, no light ahead of Them. With anxiety coiling in his stomach, Time marched forward to lead everyone ahead.

The short walk led them to one final room, circular in nature with the face relief plastered around the wall, and a large hole in the floor. They all glanced at one another, confused at the nature of the room, and then turned to Time.

"Down there."

"Oh Hylia help us," Sky murmured, his gaze going upwards in a fitful prayer.

"So... what exactly is down there?" Hyrule questioned and Time sighed.

"An oversized drum sitting in a burning pool of water, and something that could easily crush us. I just explained Bongo Bongo a few minutes ago, Traveler." Hyrule blushed as he looked away, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry I uh... I was meaning more for the terrain down there. I can't see anything." Time winced but nodded as he looked to each of them again. A part of him just wanted to drop down himself, to protect them all and keep them from this fight, but another part knew they wouldn't listen, jumping down into the fray to help him.

"I'm surprised you all made it this far~" Someone giggled above them, making the Heroes look up in surprise, and then rage.

"You!" Hissed Shadow, who floated in the air fuming.

"Yes me, oh little darkling~" She sang, and Time glared as he looked at the two women who floated above them, one with white hair and one with black hair. The black haired one was certainly familiar.

"Sister, control yourself," Con deadpanned, her hands glowing with dark magic as the other just frowned.

"Oh come on, Connie. Can't you see that I wanna have fun!?" She whined, her demeanor looking too innocent for the way she was spattered with blood and looking ready to kill.

"Niq, you know what we have to do." Con kept her eyes upon them, everyone drawing their blades in an attempt to arm themselves for defense.

"Oh boo... just ruin everything."

"You had your fun torturing the Heroes."

"But it just. Wasn't. _Enough!_ " She whined, and then turned to them.

"Get down here you crazies! I'll show you what I really can do now that I've got my sword!" Wind shouted, and Time had to reach out to hold him back.

"Oh I'm so scared," Niq sassed, giving a grin full of teeth. "Why I'm so scared, I can't just handle being so high up!" She drifted down on shadowy tendrils, her face seemingly etched in a smile.

"Come on, I'm right here~ Give me your best shot!" It wasn't Wind that raced forward, but Wild and Shadow, attempting to stab her with their blades.

"Wait!" Time tried to stop them, but Niq danced back up into the air, only to reveal that she'd been hovering over the large whole in the floor. Wild dropped down, Shadow floating in the air as he turned to watch the other drop, only to have Niq take her foot and kick him, sending him careening in the air.

"Cub!" Twilight shouted, and without even waiting, he followed after. Time glared at the two women, Niq holding her stomach in laughter while Con just stared impassively.

"Beat the Phantom Beast, and proceed forward, Heroes. Win, and you live. Lose... it is of no consequence to us." With that, she seemed to gather up her sister in the dark magics and they disappeared into the shadows. With no more words, everyone dropped down.

Time was the last one to land, bouncing when he landed on the thick hide that was the large drum. It was silent, everyone trying to gather their bearings in the dark room.

Suddenly, the whole platform moved, rippling with a single heavy tap. It sent everyone stumbling, trying to keep balance. Then a second later, a set of three light taps just made the platform vibrate gently. The beat has started, leaving everyone struggling to keep on their feet.

One by one they managed to turn, staring up at the creature that kept beating upon the drum, seeing two large disembodied hands, the arms cut off from the wrist up to past the creature's elbows, the body covered in a thick black hide, and where its head would have been was a overly large glowing red eye, with petal-like coverings on the side. It stared at them, no noise from it as it just watched them, the beat now faster and tense, and then it disappeared into the darkness, leaving only it's hands revealed to them.

" _THAT'S BONGO BONGO!?_ " Legend shouted, whether in fear or anger Time didn't dare figure out, as they tried to follow the hands, still struggling to be on their feet.

"I told you!"

"Someone shoot it!" Warriors exclaimed as he fell down after the beat again. The others had attempted to keep themselves steady but few did.

Suddenly, the beat stopped and one of the hands raised up above Warriors, attempting to slam down onto him. Time raised his bow and shot it, hearing a strange echoing groan in the darkness as the hand shook itself out in pain. The platform stopped rippling, as the second hand had stopped tapping on the drum.

"Nice shot!" Someone shouted, but Time paid no mind as suddenly the second hand curled into a fist, attempting to ram into him. He dodged to the side, only to turn in shock as it slammed into Legend and Sky, toppling them off the side of the drum into the waters below.

"Hang on!" Hyrule and Four shouted, racing over to try and get them out as they began to howl in pain.

Time had to turn back around to the fight, worry knotting his stomach again as Twilight pulled out his bow and fired an arrow, letting it land squarely in the open palm of the hand that had attempted to swipe at them. With both hands now shaking in pain, they moved in tandem to be clenched on the edge of the platform.

"Look out!" Time shouted, everyone dodging out of the way as it had attempted to run them off the edge of the platform.

"Come on! How do we see it to shoot at it!?" Wind shouted in frustration, Shadow floating around to try and use Four's bow and catch it off guard. Time frowned as he rummaged in his bags, hoping that the Lens was still usable.

Just as he pulled it out, the heavy beat started back up, making him lose his footing, and his grip on the Lens of Truth.

He watched as it fell, tumbling to the side and the glass completely shattered into red shards, skittering and vibrating on the drum platform with every beat. Time felt the world freeze, and he could only watch as Warriors managed to catch one hand with an arrow, Hyrule and Four pulling up the other two that had been knocked aside, seeing them covered in the thick grunge of water that surrounded their platform, their exposed skin red and blistering.

"A little help here!?" Wild shouted out, and Time grit hit teeth in rage as he caught his footing, nocking an arrow before firing it into the hand that tried to curl itself around Wild to crush him.

Once again the hands, now both in pain, moved to the side to try and charge over them, but Hyrule was back up and aiming his own bow, and he fired it. It seemed to land dead on, allowing the dark magic to drop and reveal the thing. It lay there, stunned with the arrow gouged deep into the already blood-red eye.

"Now!" Warriors called out, the few Heroes that were close enough to fight now taking the chance to dig their blades into it, more blood slicking down onto the platform to be a hazard for all of them and then, it disappeared again.

they all continued to stumble around, attempting to find their footing and to keep upright, but it was difficult with the drumming that moved their platform. When it stopped, the first hand moved to slam down on the group that was Legend and Sky, but thankfully Wild was able to fire off an Ice Arrow at it, freezing it solid. The second hand was attempting to smash the ice off, stopping them all from falling over with the movements, and then Wind was able to fire another arrow.

"Is the eye open!?" Twilight called out, turning to look at him expectantly, but Time didn't have an answer, not as the creature curled up its hands again and looked ready to charge.

"yes!" Hyrule shouted, and both Twilight and Wild fired their arrows between the hands, hearing it give a shout of pain and drop down, dazed and confused.

"Why didn't you tell them?" Hyrule asked frantically, coming up beside Time with frantic concern on his face. Time didn't know what to say, standing there as his heart pounded in his chest.

"It broke," was all he managed before running over to join in slicing at the creature's weakest point. He didn't see the way Hyrule's mouth hung open in shock, seeing the remains of the Lens now scattered across the drum top.

Once more they were attempting to keep their footing, everyone bracing themselves for the same attack pattern. However, a shiver went up Time's spine, and he knew something had just changed.

It wasn't just one hand attempting to slap down, but both of them. Everyone scrambled away from the center, slipping on black blood before the shock wave rocked everyone away, tossing many back into the vile waters. Time managed to grab onto the ledge, pulling himself back up only to frantically look back down, heart sinking as he saw Wind was trying to get out, just too short to reach the edge even as he was wincing in pain.

Time pulled him up quickly, everyone else climbing back up or being lifted like Four was with Shadow, and then the world stopped again.

**_"Have you finally made a decision, Vessel?"_ ** He heard the voice creep into his mind, and he found himself staring impassively out to the scene before him, how each and every one of his boys were hurt now, because he dropped the one item that would have stopped this so much quicker. He destroyed such a useful tool and now... now they couldn't even move, lift a finger to nock an arrow or to even hold up their shield.

**_"Do you wish to see them harmed any more without my aid?"_ ** Time stared only at the disembodied hands that stood frozen in the air, and he finally shook his head. He didn't want them hurt, he didn't want to see them suffer anymore.

**_"Then use me, Vessel. Let me lend you my power, and not only will this creature be gone from your life forever, but the rest of your enemies will as well."_ ** Time was silent for a moment, trying to weigh the scale before him.

He gave a silent nod. He would agree.

The world began again, as if it had never stopped, and Time was quick to begin digging into his pouch, frantic even as his feet stumbled from the drumming on the platform. He finally found the cold edges of the mask and pulled it out. It was simple, the same markings that had been burned into his face present, with empty eye sockets and white hair on the sides.

He wasted no more time as he placed the mask over his face. He felt it meld with his skin, suctioning on like a Chuchu, and then pain. He felt so much pain, anguish, despair and _rage_ as he cried out. His whole world shifted around, dizzying but also still, and suddenly everything no longer mattered. He was there but also not, as if something else had taken a hold and yet... he had no will to fight it. Turning to face Bongo Bongo, Time could only watch as he was moved around like a puppet, and he had no will to fight it.

**"Begone from us, Demon. Or you shall be vanquished as the rest of those that stand before us,"** He called out, his voice echoing even above the drumming of the creature, still standing firmly even as the platform vibrated under his feet. He could finally see it, how it stared at him with an open, bleeding eye, but it gave no response. He paid no mind to the others as he stepped forward, unsheathing the large blade on his back and held it to his side, ready to fight.

**"If you will not yield, then you leave me with no choice, Demon."** Time held his sword with both hands, feeling the power radiating from within him and around him. The flaps closed over the eye, ensuring it would remain protected from injury, and Time took aim at one of the drumming hands. He couldn't see the others staring at him in shock as he took a swing in the air, the dark magical energy shooting out like a spinning chakram, and it hit one of the hands. The sound of pain was the sign he struck true.

He wasted not a moment as he did the same with the second hand, watching as it shook it out before he stood there, following it with his eyes blankly. He didn't pay attention as it had attempted to run over Twilight and Wild in its path to come after himself, and all he did was send another beam of energy out, stunning the creature again on the platform.

**"You chose death,"** He remarked as he strode forward, uncaring in the slow steps he took. **"And you met a terrible fate because of it."** He lifted his blade high, and brought the tip down into the eye of the beast, hearing it give an otherworldly shriek of pain and he channeled his magic into the blade, watching it fizzle and pop, twitching in agony before he released it.

Bongo Bongo reared back in agony, slamming its hands on the drum a few times, before stopping, and crumbling down into a static of shadow that clung to the platform and all of them, before it dissipated into nothingness. Silence hung in the air, everyone waiting on bated breath, but Time paid no mind. He turned to look at all of them, tilting his head curiously to them.

**"Are you wishing to give fealty to a God?"** He asked them, seeing a few were already on one hand and knee before him. It didn't matter if they were in pain and trying to get back up, or frozen in fear from their prone position. It was of no matter to him.

"Oi! What the hell!?" A voice shouted, and he turned to look at the little Darkling that floated around them.

**"You speak as if you have a right to, dark one."**

"Oh can it you pompous ass! I wanna speak to the person behind the mask."

**"He is no longer here. It is only 'we' in this body."** He explained, paying no mind to their shocked faces.

"Whaddya mean!?" Shadow exclaimed, flying up into his face and he swatted at the nuisance, though the darkling darted out of the way.

**"It is exactly as it means. He has given in, and now it is us."** He watched as they all began to pick themselves up.

"Very funny, Old Man," Legend began, wincing at the burns on his hands and legs, Hyrule attempting to use some of his magic to try and soothe the injuries. "Come on. Stop playing games now. Just take that mask off and-"

**"Games? You think I play childish games, mortal?"** He questioned, turning to the one in red, feeling insulted by such insolent words. He stumbled back at his words and the glare he sent in his direction, and Time stepped forward, pleased when they stepped back from him in response.

**"Games are for children; for little mortals that are unable to comprehend what has been handed to them, for believing in the naivety of the world. This is certainly no game."** Warriors was reaching out to try and pull Legend back now, but Time paid no mind as he continued forward.

"Pops?" A tiny voice to the side asked and he stopped moving, turning to look at who spoke. It was Twilight, his face twisted in pain and in fear as he looked up at him as Wind was clinging to him, looking just as fearful. A part of him lamented at putting fear on their faces, but it was so small, so insignificant, that it made no difference.

However, before he could say more, one other stood up. It was the captain, his face marred with blisters from burns, but he kept himself upright, and those eyes. They were sharper than a sword, and he could see the plan already forming in his mind. He tilted his head curiously as he was now focused solely on him, the rest of their enclosed space drowned out into a dull drone.

“Release him,” Warriors began, reaching to undo his scarf from around his neck, idly tossing it back behind him to one of the others.

**“What do you mean?”** He questioned, trying to understand just what this mortal was getting at. **“I have just said that he and I are now the same. There is only us, The Fierce Deity. Reborn once again as the God of Warriors, Fighters, and the Battlefield.”** Warriors crossed his arms, his face hard as they stared off.

“No. You are not supposed to be around. I recall my little brother, so long ago, telling me to never trust what you say.”

**“He is a fool to have believed he could have stayed away for long from me. My vessel was too hopeful to think he could have stayed away for long. Always comes back, desperate for help but scorns me at every turn.”** He paused as he took a chance to look around.

“I’m surprised he finally gave in when it was such a weak thing.”

“Weak?!” One of the others shrieked out, making him turn to see who made such a racket. Legend looked furious at the idea of Bongo Bongo being weak, especially with the amount of damage they all had just suffered from its attacks. Fierce Deity just blinked slowly, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Certainly you would think that a God could be broken so easily by a spirit such as that? It was no more than a fly to you mortals.”

“Come on, this is enough,” Twilight spoke up, standing on shaky legs as everyone was starting to try and assess their damages, and to try and use their meager supplies to heal their injuries. “We need you to come back.”

**“No. It is only I now.”** He felt anger bubbling under the surface, the very _idea_ that they would threaten to take away the freedom he has just gotten back so suddenly. He didn’t want to go back. He didn’t want to become the figment of someone’s imagination, to be lost and forgotten, to only being aware when his vessel put on the prison he was trapped in.

**“You will not be removing me. I am here to stay. If you do not wish to give fealty, then you shall stand aside, or face me to lose.”** He held his blade firmly, not willing to show his unease at the idea of them now starting to surround him. Certainly he could take them on without a sweat. They were nothing more than insects compared to his strength. But something was still holding him back, something nagging and insistent.

  
  


“Fierce Deity,” he turned to look at the war captain once more, seeing how he was still standing tall, but he was lax, as if trying to show a surrender of sorts. “I am not saying that I am against you. However your… vessel, as you call him, is under too much stress, too much strain. And we care for him deeply.” He paused, and he could only look into those cobalt blue eyes, recognizing him from so long ago, when his vessel was just a child.

“Hmm… that is true,” he conceded, standing with the tip of his blade pressing into the tanned hide of the drum they stood upon. “You are the most aware of what I am capable of.” He watched as Warriors shifted, something that he noted was of anxious fidgeting, or perhaps he was preparing himself to run?

**“However, I am not giving up. I have been put into rest for too long, and I will not be placed into the darkness once more, where my chosen vessel scorns and berates me, when he is the one to have found me, used my powers, and commanded his own forces with my power.”**

“If there was a way that we could give you back your original form, we would,” Warriors interjected, and he could see how sharp and intuitive the other was. (Perhaps his vessel has spoken to him about things he shouldn’t have.)

“However, the one who wields your power now is no longer the young man with relentless energy, with unbreakable will. He is someone we care for, and we need him back.” The God said nothing staring into him with blank eyes before closing them in thought, his ears picking up shuffling around him, behind him even.

**“Hmmm….”** he thought out loud, calculating the odds as 8 others surrounded him, one of which was just a mere child, but formidable in his own right, two were skilled in magic, another had tremendous speed and skill with a blade, another a reckless and unpredictable, but also clumsy and prone to losing himself, the smallest had speed on his side but there was the fact of his shadowy companion, and the one that was descended from his vessel.

**“I believe… I will not give you your wish.”** He opened his eyes, no longer a blank white stare, but the iris glowing a dark purple, aglow with magic and power unimaginable as he held his blade with one hand, ready to grab it with the other with his swings. The first to attack was the smallest one, Four, with his shadowy companion coming in to help with swings of their blades. They were quick, but it was little effort in using his own blade to block the swipes, batting at the shadow easily to knock him out of the air, bringing a gauntlet up to block dark magic bolts.

He twisted around at sensing the platform vibrate with rapid steps, this time it was Hyrule, coming in with a charge, only to use the platform up to dodge away, attempting a downward thrust into him. He jumped aside from the attack, twisting to get the other blade away that had attempted to sneak in from Legend, twisting around and picking him up by the front of his tunic to easily toss him into Hyrule.

He was suddenly face to face with the gleaming blade of the Master Sword, though it seemed that Sky was trying to fight with the consequences of fighting against one of those chosen, if the smell of burning leather was any indication. The God took no hesitation as he swirled his large Great Sword around, deflecting the blade away only to use the flat of it to knock him aside.

“Let go of him ya creepy mask!” Someone exclaimed and he turned, catching the blade of the youngest between the crevices of his own, seeing the determination laying in the young ones eyes. He did not hesitate to grab this one, holding him aloft by the neck as he put pressure on it, seeing that determination morph into absolute terror as he looked down.

“Let him go!” Twilight shouted, and Fierce Deity turned to look at the other, the one that was descended from his Vessel. How far he would be from the lineage, but also take up the exact same mantle. Foolish mortal that his vessel was.

**“Why? He attacked me, all of you did. Do I not have the right to defend myself?”**

“You would kill a child!?”

**“Wouldn’t you? If they were a threat to you, a threat that endangered the world, and could kill without mercy, why not? It is the same.”** He turned to look at the face of the youngest, frowning at hte feeling that crept into his stomach and up into his beating heart. He felt tiny hands trying to pry his fingers loose, and he allowed it, hearing him heave for breath. Wind grit his teeth as he stared down at him, eyes bloodshot but tears gathering in the corners of his eyes.

“The real… Hero of Time would never… think like that!” Wind managed out, and something about those words would sink in. The real Hero of Time? This child was naive, to think that the events from his era and the ones his vessel went through were the same!

**“But he is not here. Only I am.”** He felt the drum under him vibrate again with footfalls and he threw the boy into the one approaching him, right into the chest of Warriors who caught the small child, sending both of them hurdling into Hyrule and Sky as well. He twisted around and blocked the heavy strikes from Twilight, seeing that face contorted into something akin of rage and fear.

“This is not you! Wake up!” Twilight shouted as he tried to bear down upon Fierce Deity, but his strength was nothing compared to a Gods. He gave a grunt as he easily pushed back, spinning around with his foot to catch him in the side. He turned to see who else would fight, but he was stunned as he looked at the scene before him.

His boys… were staring at him in fear. They were fearful of _him._ A part of him was starting to wake up, something that should just stay down. He was delighted to know that they feared adn respected him, but also the idea that he put that in them left him conflicted. He felt his hand twitch as he stood there, feeling a part of him warring with the other.

_‘Let me out!’_ He heard in his head and frowned, feeling a sharp pain between his eyes as he stumbled. No. No! He could not lose his control now! Just when he’s gotten a taste of his freedom!

**“Just stay down. There is nothing you can do!”** He hissed, stumbling for a moment before he brought his blade up to block the swift strikes that came from Warriors, his powerful sweeping move that would always push the enemy back but also be devastating to those that were in his war path. Formidable opponent on the fields of battle, but he did not wish to fight two wars at once!

_‘I gave in so you could protect them! Not so you could continue to use me and, and hurt my boys! My Family! Let me out now!’_ He grit his teeth in pain as he was suddenly assaulted by the heavy vertical spin attack from Warriors that left him on one knee, gritting his teeth in frustration.

**“I will not give in to you… to any of you! I have just gotten out of that infernal mask, and I will not be denied my own freedom!”** He roared with rage as he began to attack, taking his sword and slashing from above his left shoulder down to the right, feeling it hit against the Captains heavy shield, following with rapid swings to the left, right again, and then he attempted to thrust his blade forward to break through his defense. However, Warriors got out of the way, making the God stumble a bit as he twisted to try and continue his assault.

He was left suddenly dizzy as the world tried to shift, and he growled in absolute rage as he lifted a hand up, trying to push back the headache from his vessel, raising his blade up to try and block the rapid strikes from Four again. His world suddenly shifted and his vision dark, but he knew he wasn’t really in danger.

He was standing before the furious face of his Vessel, seeing the same markings upon his face nor burned deeper, ensuring that he knew that he was his and his alone. He glared as he stood defiant, wielding the large blade before him that was nothing compared to his own weapon.

“You have done enough! I am thankful for your power, but you do NOT get to continue to use my body like a puppet!” Time shouted at him, and the Fierce Deity frowned.

**“You are the one who called upon me!”** He countered with a glare, the two of them circling in the dark room, weapons drawn as they tried to find ground against the other.

“I only used your power to protect them!”

**“You always give in though. Many who have attempted to be my vessel were never as strong as you are. Why do you still resist?”**

“I no longer want glory or power. I only wanted to do what the best is for others.”

**“Then you have become foolish. That isn’t the way of the world. It’s foolish to think that you would be able to hold it all back. It is certainly proof to what happens in the future before us.”** Time gave a roar of rage as he came at him, both of their blades meeting blow for blow, a battle of wits and wills inside the same mind.

Blow after blow, parrying and dodging, using any tactics to gain the other hand. At some point Time had almost been pinned in place, if it wasn’t for a swift kick below the belt and followed through with his own swipes, he was at least in enough control.

Opening his eye, he stared up at the faces of the other’s pinning him down, and he could still feel the dark power coursing through him. He grit his teeth, Warriors was trying to feel around for something to grab onto around his face.

“Not… much time!” He grit out, wincing as he felt himself ready to be pulled back into his mind to fight.

“How do we get the mask off?” Twilight questioned, and Time struggled to get the words out.

“I have to!” He managed before suddenly he was pulled back into his mind, struggling to defend against blow after blow. He could feel the sweat dotting his forehead, how it got into his eyes and made it more difficult, while the Fierce Deity was seemingly unaffected by such things, though he seemed to struggle now, his own breathes coming out in heavy pants as they stood apart from each other, attempting to catch their breathes again.

**“I won’t let you continue to deny me, Vessel.”**

“And I won’t let you continue to be lost in your bloodlust and willingness to fight. That isn’t what will bring true peace to any world.”

**“Be that as it is, I am the God of War, of the bloody battlefield and of the champions of the fight. I am always fighting!”**

“You may be set to bring a glorious battle, but that isn’t what I want, and have never wanted from you.”

**“Then why did you keep my mask so long then? Before I marked you, before you were officially made to be my chosen vessel.”** Time faltered for a second, and he wanted nothing more than to deny what his younger self did. He frowned, trying to find any sort of excuse or way to dodge around it, but there it was, right in front of him. He could only watch as either dark tendrils of water or even hair seemed to crawl along the Fierce Deity’s skin, as if a corruption that was seeped into him, into them. He couldn’t lie anymore to himself.

“...You’re right.” He admitted, standing tall as he lowered his blade, but didn’t let go. “I was young and foolish, to think that I could control you and your power. I was foolish to think that… that I could gain my renown back, after everyone had forgotten, that they didn’t know I had saved them in another timeline.” The two stared at one another for a long moment, the seemingly dark substance skimming over Fierce Deity, but he could also feel it seemingly pulling the tendrils on him as well. It was a corruption of himself too.

“I was tired of being so looked down upon, that as a child I was willing to prove everything. I was physically 10, but I was so so much older and wiser. I wanted to be seen as strong, and you and the mask you are held in, was an answer. But I realize now, it was a mistake, to use you and your power like that.”

He could still hear the taunts and jeers from the Kokiri kids all those years ago, echoing in the back of his head, the insane laughter of Skull Kid under the demonic influence of Majora's Mask. He could remember the pain of transforming into each of the souls in the masks he still holds, still talks to every night in his sleep. He still felt so strange, not wanting to go to sleep and fearing waking up years later without having actually lived through those years. He may have told Malon all of this, but these memories and feelings still lingered, still scarred him and gave him pain like his markings did.

“But I can’t let this continue. I can’t let the pain and suffering I endured for so long, corrupt you, turn you into something else. I can’t keep holding it inside. But I cannot continue to let you have a hold on me like this.”

The Fierce Deity was silent for a while, contemplating what was just said, but he was no longer defensive in his stance. **“I will not be gotten rid of that easily, Vessel.”**

“I know that. I know that all too well. It still doesn’t change the fact that you cannot continue to use an unwilling host.” Time reached out and placed his hands on either side of the face of the Fierce Deity, frowning as he felt the other’s hands grasping his own to pull them away. He could see how the dark energy was still swirling in the other’s skin, how it pulled at his own but he fought through it, just like he’s fought through just about everything else in his life.

“I revoke your right to me and my body!” He shouted, ignoring the shouts of pain as he finally pulled, releasing the dark energy from the mask holding against the other’s face. With a blinding flash, there was nothing there, and only the mask in his hands. He blinked, looking into the carving for a long moment and closed his remaining eye.

“I will speak with you, about how we can live together, peacefully.” He felt his world shift and he was no longer in the dark room from before, but staring up to the feeling of three people holding him down, and now someone else trying to work around his face. He grunted, managing to get his hand free from their grasp and he found the edge of the mask on his face.

“Get off!” He gasped out and with so much effort, the mask clinging on stronger than an Octorok’s tentacle to its prey, Time finally managed to take the mask off with a shout of agony; feeling liquid lightning through his body while his skin felt like it was being cauterized. He laid there, panting heavily as he stared up at the dark ceiling, fighting to catch his breath as his vision swam and his stomach did flips. He shivered, feeling so cold but also burning up as a heavy weight has finally been lifted, leaving him lost and disorientated.

“Are you okay?” Someone asked and he dared to open his eye, even as his world swam for a second. He could see the faces of his boys, staring at him with anxiety and distrust rolling off them. It was understandable, knowing just what the Fierce Deity could do, and what he possibly did to them.

“I think so…” He managed out, and finally his hands and feet were released, Sky and Warriors now stepping aside and he could only look up into Twilight’s face, seeing those dark markings so familiar on the others form of Wolfie. He reached his hand out and found Twilight’s face, frowning.

“I’m sorry…” was all he managed out, his voice growing hoarse before he managed to clear it, but he found no other words to give. Twilight said nothing, before he helped sit him up to look at everyone. They were all looking at him in a mixture of awe and fear, and he looked away back to the mask, laying so helplessly there and innocent, but he knew exactly what it would do. He picked it up, seeing Wind’s feet jump back in surprise, before he just put it away into his bags, not looking up to view any of them in the eye.

“I’m sorry… to all of you.” He fiddled with his bracers for a moment, trying to find the words to explain, or to even excuse his actions.

“It is a dark dark object that… I wish I didn’t have, that I wish I had never sought after. That I wish never had its hold on me,” he admitted softly. He chanced a glance up, seeing the hard stare from Warriors, trying to see past his own personal mask to see what was hidden deep down. His big brother was always smarter than he appeared….

“I cannot get rid of it… and in my fear and weak state, I gave in. But I gave in to save you all. I… do not know what I did, but I cannot express how sorry I am that I have hurt all of you.” He had no other words to say, nothing else he could find to tell them what was going on. Everything in his head and chest hurt, and all he wanted to do was just be a kid again. He wanted to forget, to push away the memories and feelings deep back down. He didn’t want to experience the emotions and feelings again. It scared him how consuming they could be, pulling him down to be lost. But he didn’t want to lose himself again.

The bell tolled once again, but Time could only just close his eyes as he pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his forehead on the backs of his knees, trying to will away the headache he had building up, and the burning feeling of tears wanting to escape.

“It’s okay,” the whisper beside him made Time turn his head to see from his good eye, seeing the same armor that was worn by Warriors. A hand on his back and he knew that he had someone there.

“You scared us, Old Man.”

“I scared myself,” he whispered, quivering as he tried to hold back the emotions he felt, and swallowed thickly, trying to stay strong.

“It’s alright to be scared. You know that, right?” Warriors questioned and Time didn’t respond, putting his face back into his knees again as he fought to keep himself calm. It wasn’t the time or place to have the breakdown he needed. It still wasn’t safe. It was quiet as the others shuffled over, and he wanted to curl up further in a ball, a wave of paranoia that they were watching him, judging him for being so weak when he should be strong.

He felt Warriors rummage through his bags and then felt something poke him. He turned, blinking away the tears and saw bright yellow. He looked down at it for a long moment, recognizing the mask, and looked up at Warriors. The other just gave him a sad smile, understanding and knowing, and Time reached out to hold it. The Keaton mask just stared back with thin lines for eyes, a blank face, but he understood what Warriors was getting at.

He lifted his face up and then, he placed it over his own face. It wasn’t the same, but he didn’t feel so watched anymore. He remembered showing all of them a small portion of his mask collection, and yet… it felt right to put this on. He looked through the one eye hole of the mask, though it didn’t show outward to them he could see, and they all seemed to be confused for a long moment, but he didn’t feel their stare.

The first tear ran hot down his face, hidden by the mask, and it found himself a small reprieve to finally, finally let it out. They didn’t have to know, but he could finally let it all out. He allowed himself a chance to just sit there, expressing years and years of pain and hurt that he'd had buried deep inside for so long, and also, they didn’t see it. They didn’t have to see him break down.

He leaned forward once more, and just allowed himself this moment to finally let it go. He had been through so much. So much pain, so much confusion, and so many emotions. He’s seen and felt things no child should have ever dealt with, and it still stuck with him to this day.

Behind the mask, he allowed himself to grieve for the child that was lost that day, so long ago, when the Great Deku Tree called him to stop the man from the desert. He grieved for his lost fairy, still hoping she’s out there. He’s still grieving for the child he no longer was, but still could feel him inside, crying and begging someone, anyone, to just love him.

Behind them, he felt the magic of the portal of light to take them all out appear, but he didn’t feel like moving. He just silently cried. Cried for the child who died when he left the forest, to cry for the pain he’s been through, and to cry for those that were lost in his hellish place, who were killed in a war, and who suffered under the hands for a power that should never be with fickle mortal hearts.

Mostly, he cried for himself, even if he was silent and still, he allowed himself to begin to finally let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally... finally this fanfic is completed. Oh my lord it was a monster of a fic to write, and I basically went and said: "screw editing. I want this done with and i hope people like it."
> 
> if you made it to the end of this story, I'm proud of you! If I scared you or made you uneasy, that's the point of my story and I did my job. please leave a comment about what you thought, and I will see you all, in the next installment of this series.


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